Playoff dish. (NBA Playoffs).

With the Nets' success and the further development of the backcourt in San Antonio, the possibility of PG Jason Kidd leaving for the Spurs as a free agent this summer has dwindled. More compelling--and the reason Kidd probably would have stayed in New Jersey all along--is that the Nets can offer a contract in the range of $121 million over seven years, far more than the league's other teams.... It was less than a year and a half ago that Spurs (and former Nets) SG Stephen Jackson and Nets coach Byron Scott had a minor war of words, with Scott saying Jackson would not be able to get off the bench if he were playing for the current Nets, and Jackson countering by saying Scott could "kiss my ass." Jackson, whom the Nets cut because of his poor defense and unwillingness to play within their system, could wind up with the last laugh in The Finals against the Nets.... The Pistons entered the playoffs with the highest-scoring bench in the league, but the reserves sputtered in the Eastern Conference finals, and it was the Nets' bench that played better. New Jersey's reserves outscored Detroit's, 100-96, shooting 45.1 percent, compared with 31.1 percent for the Pistons' substitutes.... After they use the No. 2 pick in the draft, ...