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Jason Kidd loved the Knicks' trip to London last season, mainly for one reason: It meant he had to play only one game in a week... Now Kidd is headed back to London, where his Nets play their only game over an eight-day period, against Atlanta. "Playing once in a week — that's the way it should be for all of the older players in the league," Kidd told me the other day... The surprising Suns come into the Garden on Monday minus their top player, Eric Bledsoe, whose strong season came to a sudden halt when he had knee surgery this past week, putting him out until after the All-Star break. Jeff Hornacek's team is 16-8 with Bledsoe (18 ppg, 5.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds) and 5-6 without him. . . . It can't be all Kevin Love's fault, but the Timberwolves are 0-10 in games decided by four points or less. We're just thinking he could make a bigger difference. . . . Rick Carlisle can do himself a world of good by no longer referring to the New York media as a "cesspool" and reminding Mark Cuban that one NBA title doesn't make him the greatest owner in the history of professional sports. Nobody has been resting on his laurels more since the Mavs won it all in 2011 than their resident TV star. . . . Didn't the Knicks know that they weren't going to get another monster season out of J.R. Smith once he scored his new $18 million contract? Guys such as Dolan are always the last to know. . . . Toronto's Dwane Casey didn't want to hear it after his club lost in Indiana, two nights after fading badly in another "measuring-stick game" in Miami. "Shooters' legs, sea legs, whatever you want to call it, it was there," he said. "We can have all the excuses but in a game like this, you've got to man-up and bring it." Tough words, but so true.