The Brooklyn Nets will be without Kevin Garnett for the fifth straight game since he suffered back spasms, the team announced today.
Kidd said that Garnett “looked good” in pregame workouts and that he was not concerned about Garnett’s health long-term, but Garnett hasn’t suited up since playing a 12-minute stint against the Denver Nuggets on February 27th.
Nets rookie center Mason Plumlee will start for the fifth straight game in Garnett’s place. The team won three straight games in Garnett’s absence before dropping a 91-84 loss to the Boston Celtics Friday night. He’s shot 11-16 (68.8 percent) as a starter in the past week, averaging 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 18 minutes per game.
Despite Garnett’s otherworldly defensive acumen, the Nets have allowed just 95.5 points per 100 possessions in the four games since he went down, the second-best mark in the league since that time. They’ve also forced 77 turnovers in the last three games, the most the team has forced since the first five games of the 1981-1982 season.
