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JAMAL THALJIThere are plenty of subplots in this year's championship series.
Pick a storyline, any storyline, through which to view the NBA Finals. There's no lack of intrigue when the Nets and Spurs tip off at 8 tonight at the SBC Center in San Antonio.
There is the throwback connection: for the first time, two American Basketball Association franchises meet for the NBA championship. There is the contrasting styles: the breakneck, transition-happy Nets against the precise, post-up Spurs. There is the East's futile attempts to thwart the West's dominance. There is that asterisk at the end of San Antonio's NBA championship from the strike-shortened 1998-99 season. And the Spurs' David Robinson, likely bound for the Hall of Fame, takes his final bow.
There is even an offseason angle: will All-Star point guard Jason Kidd leave New Jersey as a free agent this summer to replace San Antonio fan favorite Tony Parker?
But to the players and coaches only one storyline matters: the league will crown a new champion for the first time since 2000, when the Lakers won the first of three straight titles. Before that, the Spurs won in 1999.
It is a feeling two-time league MVP Tim Duncan of San Antonio yearns for again.
"I think we've been working all season to get to that point where we were in 1999," Duncan said. "That year, we had that confidence. We went on the court and we didn't make mistakes. We played for 48 minutes and we wore people down.
"We've been trying to get to that level with this team. We're a little different now because of the players, the talent, the youth, but in a lot of ways we're the same. We're a very good team."
On the other side, Kidd said being swept by Los Angeles in last year's final still stings.
"I think being swept in any series is not a good feeling," he said. "For us last year in the finals, we felt we could compete and we just didn't play.
"Our goal is to win a championship, so I think we can have a different mindset in a sense from last year when we were just happy to be there. This year, we deserve to be here, and our work isn't done."
History is on the line in this series, and not just because of the ABA.
The Eastern Conference hasn't won an NBA title since the 1997-98 season. That was when Chicago won the last of its six titles in Michael Jordan's last season with the Bulls. Since then the Knicks, Pacers, 76ers and Nets have tried and failed to unseat the West.
But New Jersey is the first East team to return to the final since Chicago's reign. Nets coach Byron Scott said his team represents the East's best chance to undo a stereotype built during years of frustration.
"I think any time you've had the champions come out of the Western Conference for the last three or four years, the perception is always going to be, they are much stronger than the East," Scott said. "Obviously we have a chance to dispel that notion a little bit here."
"I think the Eastern Conference has gotten much better. I think the Western Conference is just as good as it has been over the years. Obviously San Antonio is a great basketball team. We know we are going to have our hands full with them, but we also feel that we can play with them."
The Nets believe that their tough defense and strong transition game - fueled by Kidd, whose ability to turn a rebound into points harkens back to Magic Johnson - can overcome the Spurs' bigger frontcourt and deeper bench.
What the Spurs must do is keep Kidd, and thus the Nets, from running the floor at will and allow Duncan to dominate inside - on offense, defense and the glass - as he has against every other foe.
That New Jersey is again the best in the East is no surprise. But San Antonio's rise in the West is. The Spurs are supposed to be rebuilding, a team built around the league's premier player (Duncan) with ancient veterans (Steve Kerr, Kevin Willis, Robinson) and fresh new talents (Stephen Jackson, Manu Ginobili and Parker).
Not only that, but this is a team with salary cap room, one that planned a summer run at free agents (see Kidd, Jason) before it planned a title run.
"We probably didn't expect to get to this point, but then, why not?" Duncan said. "We've been improving every year, getting closer and closer to the Lakers, and finally got to the point where we could beat them.
"Now we're just moving on beyond that, and with the addition of the money next year and the ability to add some more players and continue to get back to this point, it just feels great."