Mike Woodson knows the how crucial Jason Kidd’s impact is to the Knicks and keeping his veteran point guard fresh just got a whole lot easier.

This weekend, Knicks point guard Raymond Felton returned for the Knicks after missing 12 games with fractured right pinky. Both Felton and J-Kidd were available for Saturday night’s game against Philadelphia.

Jason missed Friday’s practice with a back ailment but was still ready to go Saturday, showing no signs of his age while playing 15 minutes of game action.

"I feel great, I feel great. I’m young, I bounce back," J-Kidd said with a huge grin before Saturday night’s game.

Being healthy down the stretch is something not only the Knicks know, but Jason knows too. As an NBA vet, and more importantly an NBA champion, being completely healthy is essential for the Knicks championship chances this year.

"I’ll get my rest once we get fully healthy. That’s how I look at it," Kidd said. "Getting Ray back, that definitely helps."

Unfortunately, despite having both their top point guards healthy, the Knicks fell behind the Sixers early on Saturday and saw their chances at back-to-back Atlantic Division wins evaporate when they were outscored by Philly 31-17 in the third quarter on the way to a 97-80 loss at the Wells Fargo Center.

J-Kidd took limited minutes in Sunday’s game as well and sat the entire second half after playing just five minutes in the first half. Woodson was asked after New York’s bounce back 106-104 win over the Atlanta Hawks if J-Kidd was ailing, but Woodson’s vision is clear.

"He’s fine, I just decided to rest him," the New York coach said. "This is a marathon, one game isn’t going to determine anything. I’m going to need him for the long haul and I think he knows that."

Despite playing just the five minutes in the first half, Jason did dish out a pair of assists and is now within 11 of the 12,000 assist plateau.

NEXT UP
The Knicks (27-15) are back at on Wednesday when they host the Orlando Magic (14-29) for the first time this season at Madison Square Garden.

The two teams have met twice already this season, both at the Amway Center in Orlando and each matchup resulted in a Knicks win. Jason nearly posted a triple double in their last meeting on January 5th as his 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists pushed the Knicks to a 114-106 win. But No. 5 is not expected to be active for the rematch tonight.

Still, New York is looking forward to their homestretch before the All-Star break, and look to continue their winning ways. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST and the game can be seen locally on MSG.

RELATED ARTICLES