EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? His left knee has been aching for more than a month, his back is reportedly acting up and his shooting touch has been mostly AWOL.

Jason Kidd, the point guard who turned the Nets from an also-ran into a perennial NBA contender, is a mess as New Jersey prepares for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night in Michigan.

“Is he 100 percent? I don’t think so,” Nets forward Richard Jefferson said of the Kidd on Tuesday. “Does that matter? No.”

Jefferson said most of the players were hurting. Nets forward Kenyon Martin also has a bothersome left knee, and Rasheed Wallace of the Pistons has a tender foot.

“This is not about being 100 percent,” Jefferson said. “This is about finding a way.”

The New York Post reported that Kidd wore heating pads on his sore back after the triple-overtime Game 5. Kidd denied his back was bothering him.

Regardless, the Nets believe Kidd is going to find a way to lead them to their third straight conference championship, and then that first NBA title.

“I don’t have to carry the load,” said Kidd, whose 11.8 scoring average in the series is fourth-best on the team behind Jefferson (21.7), Martin (16.7) and Kerry Kittles (13.8).

“We’ve always been a team effort,” said Kidd, whose average is five points below his regular-season standard. “I’ve never had to carry the whole load. These guys have always stepped up in some way. Come Thursday night, everyone is going to have to pitch in and lend a hand if we want to have any chance of winning the game.”

In past playoffs, Kidd almost always could be counted on for at least a double-double each game, if not a triple-double in points, assists and rebounds.

He has had only one triple-double in this series, in which he has averaged 9.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds. He’s shooting 31.3 percent, making 25 of 80 shots.

Defensively, Kidd also could be counted on to shut down his opponent. With Kittles drawing the assignment on Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups, Kidd has gone head-to-head with Richard Hamilton.

Hamilton has averaged a team-best 20.5 points, using his speed to keep Kidd at a distance.