The Knicks’ backcourt had been healthy until Wednesday night, but now starting guard Pablo Prigioni is hurting, and his health in question for the playoffs.
Prigioni sprained his right ankle in a meaningless final regular season game for the Knicks and only could play 11 minutes in the Knicks’ 98-92 win over the Hawks at the Garden. Prigioni’s X-rays were negative, but with the playoffs beginning Saturday, will his ankle be sturdy enough to play? And play effectively?
Prigioni, 36, is not a superstar player, but he has started the last 18 games, a stretch in which the Knicks are 16-2. In the span, the Argentinian NBA rookie has averaged 4.1 points and 3.4 assists, shooting an efficient 51.9 percent from the field and 45.7 percent on 3-pointers.
If Prigioni can’t play on Saturday against the Celtics, the Knicks would presumably re-insert Jason Kidd into the starting lineup. But Prigioni’s loss especially would hurt in this first-round matchup because he played well against the Celtics this season, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 assists in 23.3 minutes.
Prigioni wasn’t supposed to start, but replaced Raymond Felton, who was scratched before the game. Prigioni joined a unique starting lineup that included Shumpert, James White, Chris Copeland and Earl Barron (who just signed with the Knicks yesterday).
Copeland, who had a career-high 32 points on Monday, poured in 33 last night. In his Knicks debut this season, Barron racked up 11 points and 18 rebounds, while Shumpert had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Knicks used just seven players.
mark.hale@nypost.com