After two games like Pablo Prigioni has just played, you would be forgiven for temporarily forgetting all the Knicks’ injury woes.
The 35-year-old Argentine point guard has been a stabilizing force in the absence of Jason Kidd, playing 28 and 25 minutes in the recent wins against the Bucks and Wizards, respectively, dishing out a combined 12 assists against just four turnovers.
“I’m ready to play,” Prigioni said yesterday as the Knicks (11-4) prepared to play host to the Suns (7-10) in a noon matinee today. “If it’s five minutes, it’s five minutes. If it’s 25, it’s 25. That’s my mentality for this year: Try to be ready for every game. If I play more, great, if not, stay positive.”
Positive is something it seems Prigioni doesn’t have a problem with. Smiling ear to ear and inviting a reporter to sit next to him on a bench at the team’s practice facility, Prigioni explained how he has embraced New York not just by being a full-on team player but by hosting all of his friends from home.
“When they knew I signed here, they said, ‘I’ll go in November, I’ll go in January,’ ” he said. “I joke that my hotel is full all year because my house is full all year.”
Prigioni’s role has increased since the 39-year-old Kidd suffered back spasms last weekend. Kidd has missed the past three games, and was officially ruled out for today. He said he hopes to return for part of the Knicks’ three-game upcoming road trip, which starts Wednesday in Charlotte.
“I’m happy because I felt the team needed that I do some good things with J-Kidd out,” Prigioni said. “So I’m happy because I can give one step up and try to help the team in that moment.”
The unselfish way Prigioni plays is also appreciated by his coach and teammates.
“He’s a pass-first, shoot-second guy and teammates love that,” coach Mike Woodson said. “He knows how to run pick-and-rolls, and defensively he’s a pest. He gets after guys defensively. He’s a smart, intelligent player that knows how to play, and we’re benefiting from his play, which is kind of nice.”
Woodson has the oldest team in the league, and could have expected to deal with injuries. In addition to Kidd, A’mare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert are out with no definitive dates set for their return.
And age is one of the reasons Prigioni was signed this offseason, giving Woodson what he has described as the deepest team he has ever coached. With his experience playing in the Spanish league and for Argentina’s national team during the summer Olympics, that Prigioni is the oldest rookie in the NBA is more of a positive than a negative.
“He’s not your typical 35-year-old player,” Woodson said. “He’s trained all these years, he’s obviously eating right and living right and doing all the necessary things you need to do to be ready to play. And we’ve benefited from it on the floor.”
During the blowout of the woeful Wizards on Friday night, Prigioni looked down the floor and tossed a 35-foot alley-oop to J.R. Smith, who slammed home a reverse dunk and sealed the team’s winningest November since they won a championship in the 1972-73 season.
“He does a great job of finding the open man,” Smith said of Prigioni. “He does a great job of guarding his man. He steals when we need it. But most of all he’s starting to play with confidence.”