Back In The Picture

If a movie were to be made about the 2005-06 New Jersey Nets, it would be titled The Forgotten. The supporting actors would include raspy-voiced coach Lawrence Frank, who despite his .572 career winning percentage is known more for his limited stature (at 5'8") and seasoning (at 35 years old); quick-trigger guard Vince Carter, who is trying to outrun his controversial past; and fast-rising forward Richard Jefferson, who may one day get his All-Star due. Then there would be the film's leading man, Jason Kidd, 33, who still slips defenders like a man 10 years younger yet who also slips too many conversations about the NBA's top players. "Every year people want to throw a new name out there like Dwyane Wade or Tony Parker," says Jefferson. "It's ridiculous. Night in and night out, nobody brings it like J-Kidd." � Night in, night out for the past month, no team has brought it like the Nets, who were riding a league-best 12-game winning streak through Sunday that included double-digit victories over Dallas, Phoenix and Miami as well as a road win over Detroit. During that stretch, Kidd has averaged 9.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists. For a player fourth in career triple doubles, those numbers are hardly shocking. What they don't show, though, is his impact at the defensive end. In the 79-74 win over the Pistons on March 26, Kidd held an MVP candidate, Chauncey Billups, without a field goal for three quarters. In a 110-72 rout of the Suns one night later, Kidd held the MVP favorite, Steve Nash, scoreless for the first time in more than three years. So how exactly did Jason Kidd get bumped from the discussion about the game's elite players? "Maybe I'm not flamboyant enough," says Kidd, who for the first time since 1995 was snubbed by All-Star voters during an injury-free season.

Cinematically speaking, New Jersey is more indie production than megaplex blockbuster; it is, after all, the only division leader that isn't on TNT's schedule. Which isn't to say that the performance of the Nets--and Kidd, in particular--is lost on critics who value character development over special effects. "He's the best point guard on the planet, hands down," says Memphis Grizzlies forward Shane Battier. "When you're [consistently] that good, you can be taken for granted."

"He doesn't have the flash of Baron Davis or the unorthodox style of Steve Nash," says Milwaukee Bucks assistant Lester Conner. "But does that matter? He's still one of the rare players who can make everyone on the floor better."

As for Kidd's detractors, you can count on Frank to use their assessments as a motivational tool. The Nets' coach rarely wastes an opportunity to cut out clips with negative remarks, as he did last month with a newspaper column that failed to include Kidd in a list of the top five point guards. That mild dis can likely be attributed to Kidd's struggles last season, when he was recovering from microfracture knee surgery, a procedure from which Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway and Amar� Stoudemire have been slow to recover.

Perhaps the best measure of Kidd's value to the Nets--and his place in history as a premier point guard--has been his adaptability. After years, and highly successful ones at that, of playing I-throw-it-up-and-you-slam-it with Jefferson and Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles, Kidd has made the transition to a more controlled style that better suits Carter, who was acquired early last season after making it clear he wanted out of Toronto. With his clock-killing dribbling and slightly (O.K., very) questionable shot selection, Carter seemed an ill-suited sidekick for an up-tempo playmaker like Kidd. Not so. Averaging 26.0 points during the winning streak, Carter has exhibited energy seldom seen during his last years as a Raptor. In the third quarter of an 86-74 win over the Grizzlies on March 29, he pulled down a rebound and sprinted 94 feet before taking a bounce pass from Kidd and throwing down an emphatic one-handed dunk. "With Vince you have to accept that sometimes he'll aim at the rim and hit the logo," says Kidd, "but he can also make a lot of shots that no one else can."

More surprising than their offensive efficiency is the Nets' newfound defensive dominance. During their streak, they were holding opponents to 81.0 points a game, astonishing numbers considering that, of the starters, only Kidd and Jason Collins are above-average defenders and that Carter and 22-year-old center Nenad Krstic are mediocre at best. But a renewed commitment to individual defense spearheaded by Kidd has helped the Nets--who rarely send double teams--control the rim and limit second chances. "When they defend like that, combined with their scoring," says Philadelphia 76ers assistant John Kuester, "they're the scariest team in the league."

That isn't news to Miami, which swept New Jersey in the first round of last year's playoffs. In a 90-78 win over the Heat on Sunday, the hallmarks of the new Nets were on display: the half-court wizardry of Carter (43 points), a suffocating defense that held an opponent under 80 points for the sixth time during the streak. It was the Nets' third win in four meetings with Miami this year and perhaps a message that this show's run may be extended deep into June.