Jun 9, 2002 5 min read

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – There are at least 10 reasons why the New Jersey Nets can still win the NBA championship. From the home office in nearby Secaucus, let’s begin with reason No. 10: Lakers insult wrong guy at Bada Bing Club.

Please excuse the Jersey jokes. Just trying to make the NBA Finals a little more entertaining. Thus far, the Nets have been nothing but a bad act against the two-time defending champions.

The Nets had every reason to hit the Los Angeles Lakers with their best punchline right away, but they were about as successful as every band that ever opened for Bruce Springsteen in Asbury Park.

Here are the nine other reasons why the Nets can win the series:

– No. 9: Nets hire Sacramento room service chef as Lakers’ caterer.

– No. 8: Lakers confuse Atlantic Ocean with Pacific Ocean, lose bearings and shoot at wrong basket.

– No. 7: Lakers acquire Lucious Harris from Nets.

– No. 6: Lakers take wrong turnpike exit; miss tipoff trying to get unlost.

– No. 5: Nets hire Bruce Springsteen to sing National Anthem; Lakers spend next 48 minutes wondering what all the fuss was ever about.

– No. 4: Jimmy Hoffa’s ghost appears, spooks Shaq.

– No. 3: Kobe overindulges on cheesesteaks from nearby Philadelphia.

– No. 2: Lakers acquire Stephon Marbury to improve team chemistry.

And the No. 1 reason why the Nets can still win the NBA title (drum roll, please):

– While meditating, the Lakers take a collective deep breath while downwind from the malodorous city of Elizabeth.

All kidding aside, the Lakers and Nets arrived in New Jersey early Saturday, giving them plenty of time to rest up for Game 3 Sunday night. Tipoff is approximately 8:40 p.m. EDT.

Shaquille O’Neal told a toilet anecdote following Game 2, then headed off with his teammates to the land of petrochemical tanks and turnpike tolls.

Please pardon the disturbing visual images. It just seems as though this series is best described with the most unflattering terms available.

Blame it on the Nets.

It took them six quarters to figure out that maybe it might be a good idea to send a second defender at O’Neal.

The Big Adelman-hater dropped 40 points on them in Game 2 on Friday night, upping his average in this series to 38.0 and making himself the odds-on favorite to win his third consecutive NBA Finals MVP award.

Most impressive was O’Neal’s free throw shooting. The notorious bricklayer went 12-for-14 from the line and also had a team-high eight assists, with several of his passes leading to 3-pointers that crushed the Nets’ hopes of pulling off a comeback after they fell behind by 20.

“I don’t know what to do against Shaq right now,” Nets coach Byron Scott conceded.

O’Neal had such an easy time in Game 2, he was even able to squeeze in a brief flirting session with one of the more attractive courtside patrons at the Staples Center. He won’t find anyone quite so fetching in the front row at the Meadowlands, where the long-suffering faithful have developed permanent grimaces.

After 26 seasons of humiliation, they now find themselves trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series with their one opportunity for glory blocked by a 7-foot, 350-pound behemoth.

Making the Nets seem even more insignificant, the Lakers have been sprinkling their public comments with repeated references to their proudest conquest – their seven-game victory over Sacramento in the Western Conference finals.

“Sacramento had the best record in the league and deservedly so, so we felt that was the team to beat,” Samaki Walker said. “But this series is far from over, and we understand that. Right now, they have their backs against the wall and are like a wild animal that you corner. They could be very dangerous.”

Yeah, right.

There are raccoons wandering the swamps outside the Meadowlands that could scare that Lakers more than Keith Van Horn has. There are deer ticks in Princeton that have wreaked more havoc than Kenyon Martin has. There are mosquitoes in Trenton that have been bigger pests than the off-target Harris, who has shot 1-for-14 through two games.

“Please, let’s get out of here right now,” Harris said Friday night. “Please, let’s get back home and come Game 3, we still have a chance.”

About the only good thing the Nets have going for them in this series is Jason Kidd, who bounced back from a scoreless first half in Game 2 to finish with 17 points, seven assists and nine rebounds.

Kidd and the Nets were a much better team at home (33-8) than they were on the road (19-22) during the regular season, and they can only hope that trend holds up.

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, so the Nets understand that their only chance to keep this thing competitive is to win Sunday night.

“I hope we have the energy and intensity that we’ve usually had at home. We’re going to need it. We can’t continue to play in spurts, play 15 minutes of good basketball and eight minutes of basketball that we’re not accustomed to playing,” Scott said. “We’re playing the best team in the world, the world champions. If we keep playing in spurts, we’re going to be in trouble.”

Actually, the Nets are already in trouble.

And if they lose Sunday night, the situation will become bleaker than the prospect of a picnic in Paramus.

On the bright side, a Game 3 victory by New Jersey would change the whole dynamic of the series.

If John Bon Jovi can make a successful comeback, maybe the Nets can, too.