A 5-6 record looks positively sparkling. Getting slaughtered off the backboards in nine of 11 games seems like a good way to build character. The defense that hasn’t been able to guard a locked door appears desirable.
All of that is in comparison to the prospect of a lingering Jason Kidd knee injury. The Nets yesterday admitted there is real cause for concern over Kidd’s swollen and aching left knee that he bruised in the season opener against Toronto – the matinee opponent today at the Meadowlands.
Team president Rod Thorn acknowledged “the possibility” that Kidd won’t play against the Raptors to take advantage of a schedule quirk that provides one game in six days.
“He hasn’t been 100 percent,” Thorn said of Kidd, the one indispensable Net who has been skipping heavy practice work, doing light shooting instead.
“There has been significant swelling in the knee and he hasn’t been himself. You can see it on the court.”
Thorn stressed, however, that visits to two doctors by Kidd have uncovered “nothing structurally wrong” with the knee. The Nets will “play it by ear” before discussing whether Kidd might need a stay on the injury list.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure we’re going to have to sit down and talk about that,” coach Byron Scott admitted about possibly shutting down Kidd. “I don’t know. I’m sure it’s going to be a game-to-game situation. Some games it feels pretty good, some games it swells up. That’s a thing we have to see game by game, day by day, week by week.
“Once it swells up, there’s very little he can do. His explosiveness is limited. His foot speed is limited. The way he moves laterally is limited. It just hurts him. And I know it hurts him to the point where he can’t go out there and perform to the way he expects to perform,” Scott added.
Kidd, who has spent longer and longer times icing his knee after games, did not speak to reporters after practice yesterday. The team gave a short statement through a spokesman. The team said Kidd’s availability will be a “game-time decision.”
“I feel great. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” Kidd said.
Doesn’t exactly bring an overriding sense of calm and peace, huh?
Since joining the Nets, Kidd has missed just two games – last season with what was labeled a strained groin. The Nets were 1-1.
Sore spots
Net injuries this season (through 11 games)
Player Injury Games missed
Lucious Harris Back 11
Damone Brown Back 11
Rodney Rogers Thumb 9
Tamar Slay Shin; groin 6
Kenyon Martin Ankle 5
Brian Scalabrine Hip flexor 3
Jason Kidd Knee ?
How Nets have fared, injury-wise, in Jason Kidd’s three seasons in N.J.:
Season G Man-games lost Avg. per game Projected games lost
2001-02 82 174 2.12X
2002-03 82 262 3.20X
2003-04 11 45 4.09 335