After Jason Kidd was one of the Knicks’ veteran leaders last season, it could be weird for them to see him coaching against them Thursday night at Barclays Center. But embattled Knicks coach Mike Woodson doesn’t have time to fret over Kidd’s struggles or losing to his former player. He has enough drama to keep him busy.
“[Shoot], I can’t worry about Jason. I’ve got to worry about the New York Knicks,’’ said Woodson, who is 3-13 this season and watched his former guard go 5-13 in his rookie coaching campaign in Brooklyn.
Does he feel for Kidd at all?
“Coaching’s not easy on anybody at any level. He’s had his ups and downs as well as our team,” Woodson said. “It’s what it is. Do I feel for him? I feel for any coach that has to go through losing streaks. But hey, you’ve got to get through it. You’ve got to keep pushing and grinding and get your team over the hump. That’s the name of the game.’’
Carmelo Anthony has talked about how helpful Kidd was to him last season, and how much leadership the venerable point guard provided. Now it seems weird to see him on the bench instead of the court.
“Yeah, we have to get used to it. I’m still getting used to it,’’ said Anthony. “Just a couple months ago he had a uniform on; he was one of my running mates last season. To see him in a suit now coaching, I’m still trying to get used to that.’’
J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin (left ankle) both skipped the contact portion of practice on Wednesday. Woodson said the off-guard may have his minutes cut back.
“Yeah, he was slow [Wednesday]. He stretched, went through a little warmups, then we got some shots for him, but no banging,’’ said Woodson, who said it was unlikely Smith would miss Thursday’s game.
Woodson stuck with Smith over Iman Shumpert down the stretch Sunday, but said that had nothing to do with Shumpert’s tiff with Anthony.
“That is what I elected to do. My job is not to explain it to you why I do things,’’ Woodson said. “[That] had nothing to do with it. It was strictly Melo’s fault in that instance.’’