NBA FINALS Stay tuned: Spurs, Nets saving best for last

Game 4 is Wednesday in New Jersey.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The NBA's two finalists have no larger-than-life superstars who command our attention. Their games so far have been discombobulated, charmless affairs. The TV ratings are terribly low, and so are the final scores.
So why should anyone pay attention to the rest of the NBA Finals? Because there's still a champion to be crowned -- and even at their worst, the world's best basketball clubs can still put on a great show.
So says David Robinson, who's halfway to his second league title with the San Antonio Spurs in the final days of his career. The 14-year veteran acknowledges the lackluster quality of the finals so far, but he's sure there are plenty of memorable moments coming soon.
Breakout due
"I just don't think two teams who are this good can keep playing like this," Robinson said Monday before the Spurs' workout at the New Jersey Nets' training complex.
"I'm pretty sure the quality of play is going to improve. Back in '99, we didn't play some of the prettiest games, but nobody remembered that when we won it all. When it gets down to the final games and it gets tense, that will bring out the best in both teams."
The Spurs lead the Nets 2 games to 1, with Game 4 Wednesday night at New Jersey.
San Antonio's combination of Tim Duncan's inside play and Tony Parker's outside scoring has been too tough to stop for any significant length of time. Duncan's dominance isn't surprising -- but Parker, the Spurs' 21-year-old French point guard, thoroughly outplayed Jason Kidd in both of the Spurs' victories.
Even Kidd has been impressed by this coming-out party for Parker, the fourth-youngest player to appear in the NBA Finals.
"[At 21] I probably wasn't as good as Tony," said Kidd, who was a rookie with the Dallas Mavericks in 1994-95 at that age. "My game was passing and getting the ball to Jimmy [Jackson] and Jamal [Mashburn]. I didn't have to score.
"Tony can do scoring and find the open guy, and he runs the team. They wouldn't have won 60-something games if he wasn't as talented as he is."
Kidd's maturity and savvy were expected to be a distinct advantage for New Jersey against the Spurs, but he has gone 10-for-36 from the field in the Nets' two losses. He refuses to blame his ineffectiveness on his injured right ankle or on his heavy workload in New Jersey's offense.
Stuck on same step
So far, the Nets seem stuck on the same step they took last season: good enough to beat everyone in the East, but struggling against the West powers. San Antonio hasn't significantly outplayed the Nets -- as the Spurs' 51 turnovers in three games attest -- but the Spurs execute better down the stretch, and they've already reclaimed home-court advantage.
"We've got to come out and win Game 4 no matter what, if we want to have a chance to win this series," Kidd said, calling it a "do-or-die situation."
"We have to treat Game 4 like it's a Game 7," Nets forward Kenyon Martin said.