It's all set up for the New Jersey Nets to make it all the way to the NBA Finals.

Or, to wind up wheels-up in a ditch outside exit 16W in the Meadowlands, before we ever turn the calendar to June.

You can't handicap the East because it's virtually impossible to predict what the top-seeded team will do. The Nets no doubt earned the No. 1 seed by virtue of their franchise-record, 52-win season. Jason Kidd had an MVP-type season and was reason No. 1 why the Nets doubled their win total from last season.

	Jason Kidd has struggled as a go-to guy in previous playoffs.

But it's the playoffs now, a different season. Check the teams that have gone the furthest and they all have the kinds of ingredients that lead to postseason success. Call them the playoff essentials, if you will: A proven go-to player. A couple of bona fide stars. The ability to score points off their halfcourt offense in those do-or-die fourth quarters. A defense that can shut you down in crunch time and keep you off the glass and prevent you from getting second-chance shots. The experience of having gone through playoff wars, with the scars of losing to prove it. The ability to win on the road in a hostile environment. And, last but not least, an imposing homecourt advantage.

When looking at that list, the Nets just don't seem to stack up. In fact, it can be argued that the last three Eastern Conference champs -- the Knicks, Pacers and Sixers, none of whom were mistaken for a juggernaut -- all had more of the playoff essentials than Byron Scott's team.

"We're all anxious to see how we'll do in the playoffs," said the Nets' Kerry Kittles. "We're a little bit young, so this is going to be a new experience. We're going to find out what we can do. During the season, you develop a little bit of character. But it really comes out in the postseason. We'll see who carries what weight and where we go as a team."

Hey, they still could go far. They had an impressive 17-11 record vs. the West, posting wins over Sacramento, San Antonio, the Lakers (minus Shaq), Portland, Minnesota, Seattle and Utah. And, in one of their least-publicized strengths, they were top-five all season long in field-goal percentage defense (42.8) and points allowed (91.9).

"They did it all season, so they're no fluke," said Orlando's Doc Rivers. "They're the clear-cut favorite because of Kidd."

But during the season, the Nets had some trouble when games were reduced to physical halfcourt encounters, just the kind featured in the playoffs. So there are legitimate questions whether the best running team the East has had in years can adapt to a different style. Kidd has often struggled in the postseason when he hasn't been able to run. He doesn't create off the dribble in the halfcourt and is a spotty perimeter shooter. So Jersey's halfcourt game, especially, in the fourth quarters, will be critical to its success.

If they've got one, that is.

"With some teams, you know they can can run and post up and play one-on-one and do a lot of different things and maybe New Jersey will do that," Knicks coach Don Chaney said. "But they haven't done it all year. They've been up-and-down, running. To me, you have to have multi-dimensions to your team. In other words, you can't have one style in the playoffs, unless the one style is getting to the basket and into the paint. If you're a running team and they stop you from running and that's all you have, then you're in trouble."

The Nets should dispatch Indiana in the first round, but if they meet Charlotte in Round 2, they'll be playing a team with more playoff experience. Don't forget, after trading Stephon Marbury for Kidd last summer, the Nets will be together for the first time in the playoffs. Kidd has played in 22 playoff games, advancing past the first round only once in his five playoff seasons as Sun. The rest of the Nets' starters have almost no experience.

Kittles and Keith Van Horn each were swept out of the first round by Chicago's last title team in their only playoff action. Kenyon Martin will be making his postseason debut. Todd MacCulloch has 23 games on his playoff resume, but those came as a bench-warmer in Philly. He's never been a playoff starter. Among key reserves, Lucious Harris and Aaron Williams has each appeared in only three playoff games, while Richard Jefferson and Jason Collins are rookies.

	“	At least Kidd has been through some wars. But the other guys haven't. That's a big thing because players need to get the experience of playing in the playoffs and learning what it's all about. ”
		— Doc Rivers, Magic head coach

"At least Kidd has been through some wars," Rivers said. "But the other guys haven't. That's a big thing because players need to get the experience of playing in the playoffs and learning what it's all about. So Kidd is not only going to have to play, but he's also going to have to nurture at the same time."

Maybe they can do it. But normally, teams don't make meteoric rises. Even the Michael Jordan Bulls had to go through some losing together in the postseason, what Pat Riley refers to as "the painful progression."

But as Phil Jackson observed: "This might be one of those weird years where you'll have New Jersey go wire to wire. Philadelphia is a team with experience, but you don't know about Iverson's injury. The thing about the Nets is that Jason has experience as a playoff competitor and that's going to be important for them. They've got talent and a good bench."

But do the Nets have that critical go-to player? They've done it all year by committee, with Kidd, Kittles and Van Horn starring at times in that critical role. But for the playoffs, the best teams usually have the one player who can score, get to the line or attract the double team and find an open teammate for the big basket in crunch time. Kidd would seem to be the likely choice, but he's had problems in that role in previous playoffs.

"The NBA playoffs always come down to whose stars are playing great," Washington's Doug Collins said. "Great players do supernatural things. That's where Michael made his name and Isiah and Bird and Magic and Olajuwon and all the great players before. Come playoff time, when you see a team playing big, normally they've got two stars who are leading the way."

Jersey has Kidd, but Scott admitted the obvious a few weeks ago when he said the second "marquee" player is exactly what the Nets lack. That's not all. When they open the postseason in the Meadowlands on Saturday afternoon, it's no lock they'll sell out. They had the fourth-worst home attendance average, drawing only 13,728 per game.

The Nets did post a tremendous home record (33-8), but it remains to be seen if their homecourt provides any real edge. One thing is clear: Their lack of intensity on the road and 19-22 record away from home doesn't bode well. The last three Eastern Conference champs with losing road records -- Indiana (20-21 in 2000 ) New York (8-17 in 1999) and Orlando (18-23 in 1995) -- all enjoyed significant homecourt edges.

Then again, this is the East, where anything can happen. Even a Nets' run all the way to the Finals.

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.