Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett survived their first meeting with the Boston Celtics and now they have to face the first game against their former coach, Doc Rivers. The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers will meet up for the first time this season, making the first reunion since a blockbuster summer trade saw the dismantling of the Boston Celtics. Garnett admitted that facing the Celtics was easy because Rivers was not there, making the Clippers game more emotional.
Garnett and Pierce did not face Rivers back in November because both were out due to injury. Now, everyone is healthy and expected to play. Both players have remained coy on the upcoming reunion, opting to stay focus on the success of the Nets rather than the emotional side of facing their long-time coach in different uniforms. Both Garnett and Pierce have struggled to find their form this season, something Rivers said has been tough to watch.
"I don't really care about the Nets, but I do really care about KG and Paul," Rivers said, via the Boston Globe. "I hate it. I don't want them to do poorly. [Thursday] night I do, but otherwise you want them to do well. You want Kevin and Paul, you just want it to end well for them. And I think, when they all get healthy, it will. It's just way too early right now to say what they're doing there is a failure. Right now, it is. I think later on it will not be. If they get healthy and right, I don't think any team in front of them will want to see them in the playoffs - and I think they will be in the playoffs."
Rivers has been critical of the way head coach Jason Kidd is using the veterans. Pierce is likely to come off the bench again on Thursday night, something Rivers does not agree with. Kidd did not address the coaching criticism, instead staying focused on the respect of the reunion.
"Again, that's the guy they won a championship with," Kidd said, vi ESPNNewYork.com. "They have a lot of respect for [him]. He's a very good coach. There will probably be some emotion. Probably being in a different uniform takes a little bit away, but still the tie of being able to win that championship and play for a good coach like that [makes it emotional]."
Joe Johnson is no stranger to playing against former coaches and says sometimes reunions make the games more fun. He believes both Pierce and Garnett will enjoy the matchup and the desire to outplay old friends could help extend the team's two-game win streak. Kidd certainly hopes so.