EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Shaquille O'Neal offered his praise, describing him as "my pick for MVP." Kobe Bryant said the challenge is trying to contain a guy who is "incredibly hard to stop." Phil Jackson probably summed up the essence of Jason Kidd the best: "He's not interested in scoring; he's interested in winning."

	Jason Kidd laughs at the idea the Nets don't have a chance against the Lakers.

And that's what will drive Kidd tonight as he leads the New Jersey Nets into the opening game of the NBA Finals against the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers -- winning. Making his first trip to the Finals, Kidd realizes that a return journey isn't guaranteed. So he's out to make the best of this opportunity, regardless of the fact that the Nets are overwhelming underdogs.

"You cannot measure what's inside somebody's body, and what I mean by that is heart," Kidd said. "We are not here on a paid vacation, we are not here to go to Hollywood, we are not here to help our acting careers or get deals."

Here's what makes Kidd tough: Despite not being the greatest shooter, the fastest player or the highest leaper, he finds a way to win. During the playoffs, he's leading the Nets in scoring (19.3 points per game), rebounds (8.4), and assists (8.9).

"He can get you nine points," Bryant said. "And still dominate the game."

While playing a conference final series against the Sacramento Kings would appear to be great preparation, the games of Mike Bibby and Kidd are different. While Bibby is a truer score and more accurate jump shooter, Kidd is more apt to get his teammates involved in the offensive flow.

"You almost want Jason to score because that eliminates some of the other things -- the assists, the rebounds, the floor game that he has," Lakers point guard Derek Fisher said. "You can't stop great players like Jason Kidd. You have to make it hard for him to do the things that he does."

While the Nets are, at times, fluid in getting easy baskets out of their Princeton motion offense, this team can not win by playing halfcourt basketball. New Jersey doesn't run a lot of pick-and-roll, a set the Lakers had problems with against Bibby and the Kings.

	“	Nobody is giving us a chance. We understand we're playing the best team, and probably the two best players. We are going to give it our best shot. We have nothing to lose. ”
		— Jason Kidd

What the Nets want to do is run the court. And the fact that Kidd is such a great rebounder (he's averaging more boards in the playoffs than every Laker except for Shaq) means he's out and running when he controls the boards. He's an instant fastbreak.

To keep the Nets from running, look for the Lakers to try to keep a body on him to limit his defensive boards. And if Kidd does get out and run, the Lakers are going to have to be solid in their transition defense.

"We've got to get back and stop the ball -- that's the first rule against Jason Kidd," Jackson said. "He'll do whatever it takes to help his team win the game."

Fisher will start the series defending Kidd but if the Lakers find themselves in a more difficult series than what's expected, Bryant will get his chance.

"Mike Bibby is a much better shooter, but Jason Kidd does so many other things that makes him dangerous: rebounding, passing, scoring big baskets," Bryant said. "Overall, they have a lot of similarities."

Give Kidd credit for coming up with the catchiest title to describe this series: destiny versus dynasty. If the Nets are indeed destined to be champions, it will be Kidd's play that will be the decisive factor.

"Nobody is giving us a chance," Kidd said. "We understand we're playing the best team, and probably the two best players. We are going to give it our best shot. We have nothing to lose."

Jerry Bembry is general editor (NBA) at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at Jerry.Bembry@espnpub.com.