By FRED KERBER
Kidd looked great. And he was happy the team supported his pre-game claim that this bunch is special by playing defense — granted against the Knicks — but defense all the same.
“I thought we showed that we can play defense,” said Kidd who showed no signs of an achy back in his 30 minutes – he had 10 points 6 boards, 4 assists. “We have no excuse about playing defense. We got out and ran on makes and misses. We turned the ball over more than we probably should have but when you play defense like that you can take a little of a risk.”
True: Nets had 27 turnovers but they clamped Knicks in third quarter: Knix shot 25 percent (only because they got hot at the end) and scored 13 points in the 12-minute session (only because they got hot at the end). Knicks had one point in the first 5:34 of the quarter. And Knicks are even worse defensively.
“As a whole we felt our defensive performance (has been), excuse the word, pretty (crappy). And so we wanted to step up our performance as individuals,” Vince Carter said.
They did. Defense was fine. But Kidd was center stage, of course.
“He makes us run, makes the whole machine work,” Carter (22 points) said.
“I think he makes a little bit of a difference,” deadpanned Lawrence Frank who was asked what he wants from Kidd. “Just play every single game. Put that cape on every night like he does. The guy is a first ballot Hall of Famer…It’s amazing the impact he makes even in an exhibition game, how he affects his teammates.”
Jason Collins, who was .465 last year, could get a serious challenge as Nets’ worst free throw shooter. Jamaal Magloire, .541 last season, finished a 9-of-27 (.333) pre-season with a 2-of-10 effort last night.
But the bigs were solid, although Malik Allen (foot) sat. All five showed well. Collins was Collins in a short, 11-minute dose. Magloire had 10 points, 8 boards in 16 minutes, Josh Boone grabbed 9 rebounds in 15, Sean Williams went 8 and 4 in 14 and scraped his head on the rafters a few times.
Antoine Wright was a minor casualty. Cramp in his hamstring. “I was good, just caught a cramp,” he said. . .And Boki Nachbar continued his aggressive bent: 13 points in 18 minutes with lots of drives. . .Nets crushed Knicks on the boards, 52-39.
Observation on Nets from one opposing scout: “That team is deep. I mean really deep.”