http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/knicks-shot-kidd-find-article-1.1272504

As Knicks halt slide, they need Jason Kidd to snap shooting funk to end what could be a bigger crisis come playoff time

Kidd is in his 19th season, and it isn’t always easy watching him play basketball anymore. That confident jumper from early this season has vanished completely, and he would prefer not to hoist it much anymore.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Monday, February 25, 2013, 12:38 AM


Sixers' Jrue Holliday tries to get the ball away from Jason Kidd, who struggles on offense again


If Jason Kidd needed yet another reminder about his protracted longevity, the old memory bank was jostled again on Sunday when Kenyon Martin walked into the Knick locker room and donned a uniform in the neighboring cubbyhole.

Here was his teammate from the Net glory years back in the early 2000s, which seem like several lifetimes ago.

“We converted a few fans,” Martin said, recalling better days in East Rutherford. “He’s my guy. We’ve stayed close.”

Kidd is in his 19th season, and it isn’t always easy watching him play basketball anymore. That confident jumper from early this season has vanished completely, and he would prefer not to hoist it much anymore. He will turn 40 next month – old, even by Knick standards – and on too many nights recently Kidd has looked every bit his age.

The glue is unglued. Kidd came into the Garden having missed 10 of his last 12 3-pointers, and then he missed six more of them, often badly. Kidd fired an embarrassing air ball in the fourth quarter, from wide open beyond the arc. He clanked one more for good measure in the 99-93 victory over Philly, then rushed out afterward and let his teammates speak in defense of his skewed radar.

“I told him, ‘Keep shooting,’” Tyson Chandler said. “He does so many little things when he’s out there, I don’t care if he goes 0-for-10.”

It is becoming a bit of a crisis, nonetheless, for a contending team with a flawed backcourt. Kidd is the designated quarterback, a playmaker who reads the game and sees the whole floor – even if it’s harder for him now to get to a spot or defend the quicker guards in the league.

Against Philly, the 6-4 Kidd somehow scooted around to grab five of his nine rebounds in the first eight minutes of the game. And when Chandler was going after Spencer Hawes in the third quarter, when it looked as if the Knicks were going to wrestle themselves into potential suspensions, Kidd held back the big center, kept Chandler out of trouble.

Still, the Knicks were minus-nine points with him on the court in a game they won by six – despite a pep talk from Mike Woodson to Kidd about his jumper.

“I don’t want him to stop (shooting),” Woodson said. “Those are good shots he’s giving up.”

Kidd had taken a total of just 14 shots in his last four games, and Woodson had become concerned that Kidd was making one too many passes, passing the ball with only a few seconds left on the shot clock and uncharacteristically putting teammates in difficult positions.

Kidd tried several shots early against the Sixers. He just couldn’t find the range.

“Nothing to do with his age,” insisted Raymond Felton.

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Steve Novak said it was unfair to judge Kidd on such a small sample size.

“In a 50-shot block, you’re gonna miss four or five in a row,” Novak said. “He’s not a guy you worry about. He’s gonna shoot his shot.”

He really can’t have too many of these 1-for-7 games too often, and nobody knows that better than Kidd. The backcourt is a weakness, and the Knicks did nothing to change that fact before the trade deadline. If only by default, Kidd needs to be in the mix during April and May, keeping the Knicks smart in the playoff heat. Several teammates do not always make the wisest decisions. It is why J.R. Smith drives him a little crazy. Kidd is a cerebral player. Smith is a force of nature.

Now that they’ve snapped their four-game losing streak, maybe the Knicks rediscover that middle ground between passion and intellect, go about the business of being a pretty good NBA team.

“A must game for us,” Woodson called it on Sunday, after the victory. It was a game that had to encourage any fan who wants to believe Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony can make an effective pairing.

Then again, the Sixers are a panacea for what ails most opponents. With the exception of Jrue Holiday, Philly made life easy for the Knicks at the Garden. They just couldn’t sink Kidd’s jumpers for him.