Nets' Andrei Kirilenko, Kevin Garnett still out
Nets forwards Kevin Garnett, left, and Paul Pierce confer while on the bench as the Nets face the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter of the Nets' 112-89 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. Credit: AP / David Zalubowski
MIAMI -- Andrei Kirilenko was hopeful he'd be able to give it a go against the Heat Wednesday night, limiting his absence with a sprained right ankle to just one game.
But after watching him in the morning shootaround and waiting to see how he looked in pregame warm-ups, the Nets decided to hold Kirilenko out.
So that left them even more short-handed up front since Kevin Garnett missed his seventh straight game with back spasms. Kirilenko, speaking earlier in the day, said there's only one true indicator in determining if he's good enough to play.
"As soon as I can move right, that's the main factor," he said. "Everybody's got a sore something, but as long as you can do it the right way."
Erik Spoelstra knows Kirilenko's presence makes a huge difference for the Nets. "He has great instincts for that side of the floor and he can make impactful plays on and off the ball," Spoelstra said. "There's very few guys like that."
KG likely to miss Saturday
It doesn't appear as if Garnett will be meeting up with the Nets in Washington Saturday night.
Jason Kidd said the 37-year-old would "most likely" sit out Saturday's game against the Wizards as well, which would mean that whenever he does return, it'd at least be well over two weeks since he's played in a competitive game. Garnett was initially going to play in Monday night's win over the Raptors, but pulled himself out of the pregame warm-ups.
"I don't think it's a setback," Kidd said. "We will see how he feels tomorrow and keep evaluating until he's ready to go. No concern."
LeBron unsure on Phil
Count LeBron James among those intrigued by the prospect of Phil Jackson running the Knicks. "I don't know," James said. "Obviously, as a coach, we've seen his success."
