NBA

Nets’ Kirilenko: LeBron not ‘the toughest’ to guard

As one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders, Andrei Kirilenko has spent the last decade guarding virtually every top wing scorer in the league.

So as Kirilenko is set to make his Nets debut Friday night in the team’s home opener against the two-time defending champion Heat, he was asked whether LeBron James is the toughest player he has ever been asked to take on.

“He’s definitely one of those guys who is tough to guard,” Kirilenko said after Thursday’s practice. “I wouldn’t say he’s the toughest to guard 1-on-1, but he’s definitely in that category.”

So, if not James, then who?

“For me, personally? I would say Kevin Durant and Kobe [Bryant], because they’re very motivated to play with the ball,” Kirilenko said. “LeBron is way unselfish, and he will pass it as soon as the guy is open.

“Kevin and Kobe, unless the guy is wide open, like wide open and ready to shoot, they will keep going at you. They’ll keep going at you. That’s why it makes it harder to play against those guys.”

Kirilenko, who has been dealing with back spasms since playing in the second preseason game against Detroit on Oct. 12, went through a complete workout Thursday during practice and said he should be ready to go Friday night against the Heat.

“I got the green light, so slowly we’ll start to get into games,” he said.

“I’m planning to play. I’m not sure about how many minutes I’m going to play, but I’m definitely worth a try.”

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After being with his team virtually every day for the past month, coach Jason Kidd spent Wednesday night at the team’s hotel in Cleveland watching the Nets on television as he served the first game of his two-game suspension for pleading guilty to driving while ability impaired.

“I’ve seen enough tape of them, so it’s not weird [watching that way],” Kidd said with a smile. “Joe [Prunty] did a great job, the coaching staff did a great job throughout the game.

“It’s something that we knew was coming and we have one to go.”

Kidd, who said Prunty would again serve as acting head coach against the Heat, found both good and bad things to take out of his team’s performance.

“I think one, being on the road opening night, is always tough but I thought we have to grind those games out and find a way to win,” Kidd said. “Offensively we had some great looks down the stretch and we got some stops but, again, Cleveland made some shots with 5 seconds or less and they made all of them.

“It’s a game for us to learn from offensively and defensively. I thought, as a whole, we got some room to get better.”

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Shaun Livingston had his right thumb taped during practice after spraining it during Wednesday’s game. Kidd said the Nets would see how he felt Friday morning. If Livingston is unable to go, either Tyshawn Taylor or Alan Anderson would serve as the primary backup to Deron Williams against the Heat.