SAN ANTONIO, Texas, 3 June 2003 — The NBA, which has made a countless fortunes promoting its superstars, will market the NBA finals in large part as a battle between Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets.
And no doubt Duncan and Kidd are the most important players on their respective teams.
But since Duncan won’t guard Kidd, and Kidd won’t guard Duncan, the key matchups must be found elsewhere.
The best-of-seven series, which begins tomorrow night in San Antonio, may come down to how well New Jersey power forward Kenyon Martin can defend Duncan, and how well Kidd can defend Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
Overall, the 2003 NBA finals — which follow three consecutive championships by the Los Angeles Lakers — figure to be an interesting matchup.
The Nets, who are making their second straight appearance in the championship series, romped through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12-2 record, and have won a franchise-record 10 straight games.
The Spurs, who won the NBA title in 1999, emerged from the tougher Western Conference in style.
Two-time league Most Valuable Player Duncan has been magnificent, but he’s gotten a lot of help from his teammates.
The teams split their two regular-season games, each winning at home.
The Spurs have homecourt advantage thanks to their league-best 60-22 record.
The Nets were 49-33, but have the confidence of having been to the Finals last season, even though they were swept.
“It seems like it’s been forever since we’ve been here. Its just a great feeling to be back,” said Duncan, who is averaging 24.9 points and 14.8 rebounds in the playoffs.
“We’re going to the Finals for one reason . . . to win another title.”
