Kidd At Play

Earlier this afternoon, the New Jersey Nets hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA playoff game that will soon be forgotten. The Nets defeated the Cavs 96-85 to cut Cleveland's series lead to 2-1. This was not a classic game, it was not the deciding game of the series and it was just an Eastern Conference semifinal game so a few days from now, not many people will remember this game at all. Funny thing is, thanks to the brilliant play of Jason Kidd, I will remember this game for a very long time. Actually, I'm angry at myself for not taping this game because Kidd put on a clinic in how to play point guard. Before I give some hero worship to Kidd -- a player that I despised a few years back for the whole wife abuse thing and for knocking the Celtics out of the playoffs in both 2002 and 2003 -- I would like to give credit to Kidd, Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Baron Davis, Chauncey Billups and Tony Parker for showing anyone who pays attention to basketball that the point guard position is absolutely vital to win in basketball. Nash gets the most credit, he won back-to-back MVP's in 2005 and 2006 for doing what a point guard is supposed to do -- get your teammates easy shots and make the game seem enjoyable. Williams is doing the same thing in the relative obscurity of Utah. Davis is running NellieBall -- Don Nelson's orchestrated chaos of an offense -- perfectly. Billups leads the underrated offense of the defense-orientated Pistons. Parker thrives playing in Tim Duncan's enormous shadow. But Kidd is a whole different animal. Since coming onto the national scene as a freshman at the University of California in the 1992-1993 season, Kidd has always been one of the best point guards in basketball. However, starting his career with the then dysfunctional Dallas Mavericks removed him from most hoop radar screens. His trade to Phoenix during the 1996-97 season (a move that sent Nash to Dallas) revived his career but the Suns could never get over the hump in the Western Conference in Kidd's five-plus years with the team. The mentioned incident with his wife (soon to be ex) Joumanna expidited his departure from Phoenix to basketball oblivion -- New Jersey. In New Jersey he did the impossible, leading the Nets to consecutive Eastern Conference championships (losing in the Finals to the superior Lakers in 2002 and the Spurs in 2003) before knee injuries slowed him down. He still played at a high level but the return to mediocrity for the Nets and the emergence of a new brand of "superstars" led by Dwayne Wade and LeBron James pushed Kidd out of the spotlight. That brings me to this afternoon. Kidd proved today why people should watch the New Jersey Nets. It's not to see Vince Carter act like a baby, leaving the game for an extended period of time with what was diagnosed as a sprained finger. It's to see Kidd pass Larry Bird for second place on the career triple-double list with his eleventh as he scored 23 points, passed for fourteen assists and grabbed 13 rebounds. Kidd also only turned the ball over in 40 minutes of action. Now it is one thing to look at a box score and declare Kidd dominated the contest. The stats do not lie about this one. But to watch the manner in which he orchestrated this victory was incredible. At one point, Kidd leaped over a crowd to snare a defensive rebound and before his Nike's touched down on the court, he had thrown an outlet pass to a streaking Carter for an uncontested dunk. And he made it look easy. That was one of many great plays Jason Kidd made on a Saturday afternoon in New Jersey that will soon fade from the memory of many of those who witnessed it. Do yourself a favor. Don't ever let Kidd fade from yor memory. He is a brilliant player that does not come along too often.