Jason Kidd faces an offseason that could see him lose both Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from his roster.

You can attribute those expectations to the arrival of Pierce and Garnett, but they were always going to be complementary players in Brooklyn because of their age and their mileage. The Nets' fate still rested primarily with their core trio of Johnson, Williams and Lopez, the same group that withered against the Bulls last spring.

The same frailties emerged in this latest run, with the Nets often buckling in pressure-packed fourth quarters and, most damningly, in the final minutes of fourth quarters.