When the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 94-87, taking a one-game lead in the series, there was one face that didn’t see the floor the entire time: Andrei Kirilenko, and his wife had something to say, or post, about the matter.
It’s been no secret all long that Jason Kidd loves to abuse matchups with his small-ball play. Paul Pierce is too fast for most small forwards. Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston are too big for most point guards. It’s the way they’ve operated since Brook Lopez went down with a foot injury that forced him to be out for the remainder of the season.
So it raises a few question when do-it-all guy Andrei Kirilenko can’t get off the bench, losing minutes to guys like Alan Anderson and Andray Blatche, two players who focus solely on making an impact on the offensive end of the floor despite not being very good at that.
Head coach Jason Kidd spoke on Kirilenko’s DNP, keeping it brief and to the points.
“I played 10 guys. I can’t play them all.”
Kidd made no guarantees that Kirilenko will appear in Game 2 of this series. The 11-year small forward has only played 45 games this season, so health could be keeping him sideline. Or Kidd is saving their best perimeter defender for the Miami Heat and Lebron James in round 2.
Whatever the reason, if Kirilenko’s wife sees fit to post about a DNP after the first game of the season, we’ll surely see others after this. Or maybe she’s just bumping “Nellyville” in her spare time.
(h/t: The Brooklyn Game)