Nets Rely on Comfort of Home

Two more victories and Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers will establish that they rank among the NBA’s greatest with their third consecutive league title.

Although you won’t find many people who believe that New Jersey will prevent the Lakers from accomplishing this feat, the Nets have to think that they can. After all, O’Neal could get hurt.

New Jersey Coach Byron Scott is hoping that forwards Keith Van Horn and Kenyon Martin come to play for tonight’s Game 3 because he knows the best-of-seven series would basically be over if the Lakers were to take a 3-0 lead.

New Jersey cannot be discouraged about O’Neal’s dominance in the Finals. He has done this before. The Nets need to understand that even if O’Neal scores 40 and Kobe Bryant adds 25, that’s only 65 points. They can still win if they shut down the rest of the Lakers.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. A breakdown of Game 3:

NETS’ MOVE--Playing at home, New Jersey has to ride the energy of Continental Airlines Arena to get off to a fast start. In the two games at Staples Center, the Nets dug huge holes for themselves with brick-shooting first quarters.

In the playoffs, slow starts at home have not been a problem for the Nets, who ran out to sizable early leads in games against Indiana, Charlotte and Boston. Scott should stick with his game plan of using Kerry Kittles and Lucious Harris more than Jason Kidd in pick-and-roll situations. Kittles and Harris are more dangerous shooters than Kidd, but the biggest problem for the Nets has been the poor shooting of the players who are setting the picks.

If Van Horn and Martin can start making some shots, that will help open the court for the Nets, who have had good offensive stretches against the Lakers. Van Horn needs to relax and shoot the ball with confidence instead of wishing that his shots would fall. Martin has to remember that it’s OK for him to get some points off his offensive rebounds.

LAKERS’ MOVE--Los Angeles doesn’t have to change anything, except to play better when O’Neal is on the bench.

Coach Phil Jackson must be pleased with the Lakers’ ball movement and their shot selection so far in the series. Derek Fisher has done a good job of letting the game come to him and Rick Fox has looked as if he were scrimmaging at the Lakers’ El Segundo practice facility.

One thing the Lakers can’t afford to do tonight is commit as many turnovers as they did Friday. O’Neal and Bryant combined for eight of the team’s 14 turnovers, which would be a problem on the road.

Look for the Lakers to do a better job of protecting the ball and slowing the tempo. Jackson is a master of making sure his team plays with a killer instinct away from Staples Center.

Fox has done a solid job of frustrating Van Horn and making him take shots out of rhythm. That’s the key to the Lakers’ defense. They make opposing players uncomfortable and force them into shots they do not want to take. Robert Horry is also great at this tactic.

KEY POINT--The Nets have nothing to lose if they decide to go with a small lineup tonight. Rookie Richard Jefferson played well Friday and having him on the court with Kidd, Kittles and possibly Harris would give the Nets a quicker team.

New Jersey is not slowing down O’Neal anyway, and playing against a smaller team, the Lakers might try to post up players other than their big man. Another plus for the Nets if they go small would be their transition game. Kittles may be the fastest guard in the league, and Kidd isn’t too slow himself. The Nets need to get as many easy baskets as possible if they are to have a chance tonight.