After the Los Angeles Lakers barely got past the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference Finals, their NBA Finals matchup with the New Jersey Nets was expected to be a farce.
The Nets were a good team that won 52 games and were centered around the talents of Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd. They even finished first in the league in defensive rating.
But they lacked offensive firepower, and they didn’t exactly have a superstar who could carry them or impose his will on their opponent.
