Time to start Andrei Kirilenko?

It's no secret that the Nets new lineup --small ball, long ball, odd ball-- has one weakness: big athletic teams like the Pistons and Bulls hurt them badly. Take Kevin Garnett out, and things get much worse.

Mike Mazzeo proposes the Nets start --and presumably give more minutes to-- Andrei Kirilenko, who played well guarding bigs. In place of AK-47, Mazzeo suggests Shaun Livingston sit.

He notes what happened Thursday when Jason Kidd paired his too best defensive bigs:

Against the Bulls Thursday night -- yes, this is an extremely small sample size -- the Kevin Garnett-Kirilenko two-man lineup was extremely effective in 12 minutes, positing a plus-40.9 net efficiency rating (123.7 points per 100 possessions for vs. 82.8 points per 100 possessions against).

He adds that in those 12 minutes, Brooklyn out scored Chicago 24-16.  Mazzeo admits it's a small sample size and Kidd would have to watch the duo's minutes, but there's no doubt the team has had issues with the likes of Taj Gibson, Andre Drummond, etc.

• Starting Five: Start AK-47 vs. bigger clubs? - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York