Jason Kidd, now coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, returns to town Wednesday, in his first game back at Barclays Center since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, when he was Nets coach. At least one Bucks player — center Zaza Pachulia — thinks that the team will have extra motivation to win on behalf of their coach, according to Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Setinel:
Asked if the team will be motivated to support its coach against the Nets, Pachulia said, “Absolutely. I have been in that situation. It’s a special feeling when you play against your old team.
“I don’t care how you left that team, in a good way or a bad way, you want to get the win. We all understand that from oldest to youngest, and we’re going to do our best for the coaching staff to get this win. Before that we have an important game tomorrow.”
Pachulia said Kidd would not have to say anything to the players because “we understand the situation.”
Kidd scrambled out of Brooklyn in ugly fashion, attempting to usurp power from general manager Billy King and then bolting for the Milwaukee Bucks after the Nets gave the two sides permission to negotiate.
Kidd said he was not thinking about the Nets, saying that the conversation was coming from only one side of the equation.
“The New York side of the thing, of me, is coming from them,” Kidd said, speaking of the Nets. “We’re just focusing on the Knicks.
“You can’t put Wednesday before Tuesday. So for us, it’s just focus on the Knicks, and when Wednesday comes with Brooklyn, we’ll think about them at that point.”
Milwaukee Journal-Setinel — Pachulia says Bucks will have Kidd’s back in Brooklyn
