By Brian A. Lester

If there is anyone on this planet who still believes New Jersey is capable of derailing Los Angeles' quest for a third consecutive championship, I have a great piece of oceanfront property I will sell you in Las Vegas.

Not buying? Didn't think so.

It is hard to deny the fact that the Lakers are in control of the NBA Finals as it shifts to Continental Airlines Arena for the next three games. The Lakers won the first two games, and in both victories, there was never a feeling that the two-time defending champions were in danger of losing either time.

That's because the Lakers have Shaquille O'Neal, an athlete who has been nothing less than a one-man wrecking crew with a basketball against the Nets.

Shaq is a man on a mission and you sense that by the way he talks in his postgame press conferences. Listen to the most dominating center speak for just a moment, and it is quickly made obvious that his words are dripping in confidence.

Shaq has no reason not to be confident, though, because he is like every other great player on every other great team before him. Just as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan all played with heart, desire and confidence that was unmatched by their opponents, Shaq is playing the exact same way as his team inches closer to the doorstep of a dynasty.

It is painfully obvious to New Jersey fans by now that their beloved team has no answer for Shaq, and that it is rapidly running out of ways to stop him. For the Nets, trying to stop Shaq has been like trying to beat down a ferocious bear with a plastic baseball bat.

It just isn't going to be a very effective form of defense.

All things considered, however, I have to believe the Nets would rather take their chances against the bear than with Shaq because the Lakers' big man has found scoring points to be as easy as counting to 10.

There was the 36-point, 16-rebound effort in the series opener in which he gave the Nets a glimpse of his dominance. He bulldozed his way through the likes of Todd MacCulloch, Aaron Williams and Jason Collins with relative ease and found similar success in Friday night's game.

In fact, it was even worse for the Nets in Game 2, with Shaq torching New Jersey to the tune of 40 points. For good measure, he pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out eight assists with an effort that could have been mistaken for one by Jason Kidd.

Although on Friday, Kidd was average at best, scoring all 17 of his points in the second half and tallying just nine rebounds and seven assists. I swore I saw Kidd's face on the back of a milk carton at the store because he was nowhere to be found when his team truly needed him.

Shaq, meanwhile, was there when his team needed him, helping his team thwart a Nets rally early in the fourth quarter with a dunk and two free throws that ignited a demoralizing 23-6 run to put New Jersey away for good.

It is really starting to look as if the Lakers are going to sweep this series, although one has to believe L.A. will get a case of boredom at least once and lose a game.

But then, even that is pushing it a bit because the Nets are starting to talk as if they are losing the confidence they once had in themselves. Coach Byron Scott has even admitted he doesn't know what to do about Shaq, and it's not a good sign when a coach starts showing fear because if he quits believing in his team, his players will quit believing as well.

Time is running out on the Nets' heartwarming, rags-to-riches season. The first two games of this series are history, and soon the Nets will be too, unless they can find a way to stop Shaq.

But don't count on that happening. New Jersey will just as soon find a way to beat down the ferocious bear with the plastic bat before it devises a plan to beat down Shaq and end the Lakers' title run.

Brian Lester is a sports writer in Ohio and can be reached via e-mail at BAL4@hotmail.com.