Doc Rivers got a lot out of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, certainly more than Jason Kidd. The Clippers coach also remains close with his former players from Boston, saying they still “speak all the time.”

And as Pierce and Garnett struggle through an abysmal stretch for the Nets, Rivers hinted the blame lies with Kidd for restricting their minutes.

“(Pierce) can score anywhere," Rivers told Bleacher Report. "I think he was more uncomfortable with the short minutes that they were (playing him), like they did with Kevin. And that’s not Paul. Paul doesn’t work under those type of minutes—at least, in my opinion he doesn’t. He’s a guy that needs a rhythm to play. In Kevin’s case, on a 20-minute restriction, of course his numbers are going to be down. So I think at some point, he probably is going to have to play more minutes to improve, so he can get a better rhythm himself."

Garnett, 37, is averaging just 22.7 minutes this season, a career low if sustained. The same holds for Pierce, who is averaging 29.1 minutes. They’re averaging 9.2 points together, shooting 36 percent. Bad numbers.

Kidd made it clear in training camp that he’d be holding back his older players to save their legs for the playoffs, even saying that Garnett wouldn’t play both games of any back-to-back sets.

Garnett expressed his disapproval for the plan, but also said he’s willing to follow Kidd’s orders. He has since turned back questions about his minutes restrictions, noting quickly that it’s not his decision.

TORONTO — The Nets have been devastated by injuries during their horrid start to the season, but they can take solace in the fact that their list of four sidelined players won’t be increasing as point guard Shaun Livingston has been given the green light to play Tuesday night against the Raptors after suffering a head contusion in Sunday’s home loss to Detroit.
 
Livingston didn’t practice Monday but was listed as probable for Tuesday’s game. Deron Williams (ankle,) Brook Lopez (ankle,) Andrei Kirilenko (back) and Jason Terry (knee) all won’t play.
 
Livingston said he suffered the contusion taking a head-butt to the temple.
 
“Kind of a UFC move,” Livingston said before Tuesday’s shootaround. “I just took a hard shot.”
 
He had a headache after the game and Monday but was not diagnosed with a concussion.
 
“I’m fine. No symptoms,”
 
Coach Jason Kidd said it was “good” to have Livingston available but noted they would’ve started Tyshawn Taylor in his place if necessary, with Alan Anderson backing him up.
 
Livingston has performed admirably at times filling in for Williams, who did not travel with the team after re-injuring his sprained left ankle last Wednesday in Charlotte. When Williams originally injured the ankle less than five minutes into the Nets’ buzzer-beating overtime win in Phoenix on Nov. 15 – their last victory – Livingston had 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting with six assists. He had a 23-point effort in a start against the Trail Blazers last Monday and has had at least five assists in four of his last six games.
 
Kidd said Livingston was stable, a guy who’s not going to force a shot and look to set up his teammates to make plays.
 

CHARLOTTE -- Andrei Kirilenko received in an injection in his back over a week ago that has delayed his return, the small forward told the Daily News.

The 32-year-old missed the last six games with back spasms, a recurring pain that kept him home for last week’s West Coast trip.

The Nets never revealed the injection, but a team source confirmed Kirilenko had an epidural.

“It usually takes 10 days to 2 weeks (for recovery following the injection,” Kirilenko said before he was on the inactive list before Wednesday’s game against the Bobcats. “Right now it’s probably at eight or nine days. Otherwise, I’m good. I usually never have that long period of this injury sustained for that long, for about a month. …The last three or four days there were no feelings of pain. It’s just the medicine they injected you have to for.”

Kirilenko’s back spasms first cropped up in the preseason. He then played in three of the first four games of the regular season before his back spasms flared up.

 The Russian has struggled with back spasms over the last few seasons, but was never out this long.

“I tried to treat it, come back, again, it gets hurt,” Kirilenko said. “I was feeling good in a week, come back, again it starts to hurt.

“That’s why we decided to the shot. Now we’re trying to wait the full period and try to avoid re-injury.”

Kidd only said that Kirilenko was “still some time away” from returning. But Kirenko said Sunday against the Detroit at the Barclays Center is a reasonable return date. The Nets have struggled in his absence, losing six of seven before Wednesday. 

PHOENIX – Most online sportsbooks have held the line all day: the Nets, the most expensive team in NBA history with 36 combined All-Star appearances on its roster, are one-point underdogs to the Phoenix Suns, a team with about half Brooklyn’s payroll (second smallest in the league) and zero All-Stars.

Such is the state of the Nets heading into Friday’s game in the Valley of the Sun, where Phoenix has built an undefeated record at home on the strength of their speed and youth -- Brooklyn’s kryptonite.

“We have to start somewhere,” said Nets guard Joe Johnson, whose team is winless on the road (0-4) and riding a three-game losing streak. “For us not to win a game on the road, it’s still unbelievable to me.”

Maybe there wasn’t anything left to say or they just didn’t want to bother, but struggling duo Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce both declined to talk to the media before a game that teammates said required “a sense of urgency.” Deron Williams also didn’t speak, but that was because he was working extra with the coaching staff and was ushered off the practice court by GM Billy King to get on the team bus.

Kidd, meanwhile, said he was sticking to his game plan and rotation despite the difficult start and losing streak.

“Everything is still the same,” he said. “We don’t need to shake up anything.”

Kidd again highlighted problems that are easily fixed. He said the Nets are just missing open shots (they are shooting 44 percent) and they aren’t aggressive in the paint on both sides of the floor.  

But Kidd said the faith is still lies in the motion offense.