NETS DEFENSE: NETS HOPE TO KEEP KOBE BUSY DEFENDING BRYANT NOT ONE-MAN ASSIGNMENT.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Kobe Bryant is much too savvy to fall victim to the poison-laced room service cheeseburger routine again, so when the Nets put their heads together to decide how to defend the Lakers' All-Star guard, they can forget about that plan.

Actually, the Nets have no illusions of suddenly stumbling upon the hidden secret to stopping Bryant. Great players like Bryant usually get their numbers, so before the NBA Finals is complete he'll make his typical impact.

To think otherwise is, well, unwise.

``The guy is going to score, he's one of the best in the league at that,'' said Nets rookie guard Richard Jefferson, one of four Nets who will share duty defending Bryant. ``But we've had to defend guys like Paul Pierce, Antoine Walker and Reggie Miller and that's just in these playoffs alone. He's a great player, and we know he's going to hit unbelievable shots and big shots.

``But it's about being a team, and at the end of the day it's not going to say Kobe Bryant vs. Richard Jefferson. It's going to say Nets vs. Lakers.''

The key for the Nets is making Bryant work on both ends of the court. If he's going to score, fine, but he's also going to have to expand energy on the defensive end chasing Kerry Kittles, Jefferson, Lucious Harris and, at times, Jason Kidd around.

``You don't want a guy that's going to come down the court with a lot of energy on the offensive end and not have to give much defensively,'' said Kittles, who draws first crack at Bryant. ``We want to make him work just as hard defensively, try to run him off some screens and keep him busy so that he doesn't just come down on the defensive end and relax.''

Kittles is averaging 11.9 points per game in the playoffs, so it's not like Bryant is dealing with a prolific scorer. However, if Kittles is moving offensively, whether running in transition or making cuts or swinging around picks out of the halfcourt, he'll at least force Bryant to keep up. Same with Jefferson and Harris.

``With the type of offense we have it's constant work for everyone,'' Jefferson said. ``It's not an easy offense to play against. It's a little like their offense, and it's going to make everyone over there work hard to defend it.''

Still, the task of slowing down Bryant mostly will be met on the defensive end, and for the Nets, that means using a combination of players and looks on Bryant to try to confuse him and take him out of his comfort zones.

Kittles and Harris will use their quickness to hound Bryant, while Jefferson, a long-armed 6-foot-8 guard/forward, has the athletic ability and strength to be physical with Bryant. And don't be surprised if the Nets turn to Kenyon Martin, their 6-9, 230-pound power forward who guarded Bryant when the teams met in New Jersey this year.

``I'm looking forward to the challenge again,'' Martin said. ``I mean, he got 33 that night, but I felt like I did some things against him that slowed him down a little bit.''

Bryant is averaging 26.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 15 postseason games, and it's his ability to score and pass that makes him such a difficult defensive assignment.

``Just look at the line he had in Game 7 against Sacramento,'' said Jack Ramsay, former NBA coach and current ESPN analyst. ``Thirty points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and no turnovers, and that was against a good defender. He has the complete game going, and that makes him very difficult to defend.''

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The Lakers' Kobe Bryant will be a handful for the New Jersey Nets, who figure to use three or four players defending him.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer