Unless I missed it, Jason Kidd and his bad back won’t play tonight against the Boston Celtics in New Jersey.
The other 2 New Jersey stars, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson are expected to play. After heavy minutes last night against the Knicks, Doc Rivers may rest his own three stars tonight. I’m sure that the paying customers will want to see at least a little bit of the new look Celtics.
Maybe Doc will relent for a quarter or so. They look like they need to get all the minutes together they can get, after last night’s loss. It couldn’t hurt.
Last night’s Knick game seemed to revive a dying rivalry. There were a number of friction filled moments.
From Marc Spears of the Boston Globe….
“I told one of the coaches I wanted to see that game [on tape],” Garnett said. “Both teams played hard.”
Why? One reason is because the Knicks held the (Boston Three Star) BTS Express in check in the 4th quarter…
Again, Spears in the Globe….
The Knicks seemed to play with extra motivation after being hammered by the Celtics, 101-61, last week. Ray Allen (12 points), Pierce (game-high 29) and Kevin Garnett (17 points, 10 rebounds) played together in the fourth quarter for the first time in the exhibition season, but they combined to go scoreless in the fourth on 0-of-6 shooting.
The team, led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, came to Ray Allen’s rescue on a hard foul under the hoop. Pierce and Quentin Richardson had something going all game. And Tony Allen pushed Nate Robinson when they got entangled at one point. The team clearly is going to have to prove itself with a number of teams shooting for them this year.
As Doc Rivers said, the best way to fight back is with the final score. On that note, the Celtics lost as they some concentration on the team game. Or was it the Knicks defense? No doubt the Celtics will watch a little tape….and adjust.
T
