After a second straight playoff disappointment last year, New York Knicks management knew the culture of their team needed a change.

So the Knicks targeted one of the game’s great leaders, Jason Kidd, to give them a boost. Over the course of a long regular season, he did just that.


Jason Kidd’s arrival in New York has coincided with the best Knicks season in 16 years (Getty Images).

New York accomplished each of their regular season goals with ease. They secured a return to the postseason for the third straight season, conquered the Atlantic Division for the first time in nearly 20 years, won more than 50 games for the first time since 1997 and in the process locked up the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

But for J-Kidd and the Knicks, the regular season was an appetizer and they know all their regular season accomplishments will mean little if they can’t get it done in the playoffs, which start Saturday with a first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

Jason is a veteran of 146 postseason games, so he’ll be ready and Knicks star Carmelo Anthony believes J-Kidd, who was a key cog in bringing the Dallas Mavericks to a title in 2011, will provide a big boost in that regard.

“I think that’s one of the reasons the organization brought Kidd here, for his experience and what he’s able to bring not just in the regular season, but what he’s able to do in the postseason,” Anthony said. “It’s kind of self-explanatory what he brings to the game. We’re looking forward to the experience he has coming down the stretch.”


Jason enters the playoffs feeling fresh and ready for a run at the title (Getty Images).

Coach Mike Woodson made it a priority during the second half of the season to give J-Kidd enough resting time, especially after having played a plethora of minutes in the beginning of the season, in preparation for a long and physical playoff run.

The Knicks will need Jason to be at his best after fellow reserve point guard, Pablo Prigioni rolled his ankle in the team’s final regular season game and is expected to miss time in the first round. But team is confident J-Kidd can hold his own during the playoffs.

“That’s the reason this team is built the way it’s built,” Tyson Chandler said. “We have Raymond, obviously, who can handle those duties and Jason Kidd, who handled those duties and took a team to go on and win a championship.”

One of New York’s strongest traits going into the postseason is the team’s depth. In addition to Felton and Kidd at the point, they have a fully healthy Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith at shooting guard. Of course there is Anthony, one of the league’s few superstars on the wing along with Steve Novak and newcomer Quentin Richardson.

The frontcourt is stabilized by Chandler, who appears 100 percent healthy after battling a neck strain at the end of the season and Kenyon Martin, a postseason veteran. In addition, there’s rookie Chris Copeland, who will start and came alive late in the season with two consecutive 30-point games. The construction of the team has allowed the Knicks flexibility in situations when players have been sidelined.

“Management put this team together for a reason,” J-Kidd said. “No matter how old we are, we find a way to win and good things have happened. Not just our age but the young guys are playing great. Melo and J.R., that’s the core. We got a bunch of old guys that were thrown in here to just keep the thing together.”

Recent playoff history hasn’t been kind to the Knicks as they’ve won just one of the nine postseason games they’ve played over the last two years. Only a few of the current Knicks experienced first hand the team’s defeat at the hand of the Celtics in the first round of the 2011 playoffs, but everyone on the team is well aware of the history between these two teams.


The additions of veterans like Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton bring the Knicks much needed experience for the playoffs (Getty Images).

In the 2011 postseason, a much younger team was up against the thriving Celtics, but this season the Knicks bring much more veteran leadership to the table, and a bench that can compete with any team in the league.

More importantly the Knicks learned from that, and have been able to beat the Celtics three out of the four times they’ve met this season. The veterans who weren’t around the last time like J-Kidd, Felton, Chandler and Martin will have an important role going into this series. Felton believes that starts with No. 5.

“When you have a guy as experienced as he is, who is going to be a Hall of Fame point guard for sure, to have him on our team with his knowledge and his skill play, it gives us an advantage for sure,” Felton said.

Not only has Jason’s impact been noticed by his team, but also by teams throughout the league. While he may not by the speedy threat he once was in his early days, J-Kidd’s decision making, like fine wine, has only gotten better with age. He will be able to fully utilize his strengths against the Celtics, who are without their top point guard, Rajon Rondo.

“Jason Kidd is ageless,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The thing about Kidd is mentally he hasn’t slowed down. His decision-making, he can be 75 and his decision-making is still going to be good. He has great vision. He’s a great leader. What he’s done for that organization and team is amazing. It says a lot about him.”

The Knicks haven’t been able to push through the first round of the playoffs since the 1999-00 season, a long drought for one of the league’s most popular franchises. But this year’s Knicks are adamant that the time is now to turn things around.
The playoffs and even winning a first round series aren’t goals for the Knicks; they know they have the talent and ability to make it further than that.

“Winning a championship, that’s what you’re measured on, when you look at the great players in this league,” Kidd said.

The journey towards that goal begins in earnest on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks host the Boston Celtics in a highly anticipated Game 1 of their first round matchup.

Each of the four previous regular season matchups has been extremely physical, and the Celtics will be playing for a city that has gone through immense tragedy.

“Hopefully we can give people relief for two hours,” Jason said, “but at the end of the day, what happened is tragic.”

Both teams will have to put it aside and focus on entertaining on Saturday. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. EST and the game can be seen nationally on ABC.

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