The minutes have finally caught Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, who missed Thursday’s win over Spurs with a sprained ankle but was more focused on resting.
« It only took a day, » said Knicks trainer Tom Thibodeau after surviving the Spurs (102-98) in the garden. « We knew we were getting some people back [Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks] so we thought it would be good to finish him off. »
Rose, 32, could have played, even though Thibodeau admitted that Rose injured himself against the Lakers on Tuesday when he hit a season high of 39 minutes. « He tweaked it in the Laker game, » said Thibodeau. “He did a few things before the game. And we just felt like it was better not to play him today and see where he is [Friday]. «
The Knicks almost lost that one because starting point guard Elfrid Payton continued an impressive regression, went goalless and missed all four shots and scored a minus-11 in 13 minutes.
Here’s a sobering stat: The The Knicks entered the game on Thursday between 4 and 9 pm when Rose was out of the field, including pre-arrival games. They are 22-11 when he plays.
The Knicks survived this time because Burks had a 30- Points night from the bench, forced into a point guard role because of Payton’s offensive ineffectiveness.
Thibodeau was asked directly if it was time to start Rose when he returned against Charlotte on Saturday. Thibodeau was dancing but seemed to stand firm. He probably didn’t indicate.
« We like our depth, » said Thibodeau. « We have versatility. Every game tells you something different. Whatever you need, you have the answer either at the start or on the B ank. And that’s exactly what I like about the team, the depth of the team. «
Thibodeau reads between the lines and can adjust if Payton isn’t having a tough night, with Rose, Burks, Quickley, and even Frank Ntilikina in a pinch.
Rose averaged six games during the western road trip 31 minutes. He was under a minute limit of about 25 minutes when he played for the Pistons earlier this season. He didn’t do well late in the Lakers defeat and was the goat in Wesley Matthews’ offensive setback.
Meanwhile, Payton has started but his minutes have been shrinking – along with his game. Payton has scored four points in the last three games and has been negative in most of the last 14 games. He has not scored more than 18 in any game on the road trip Minutes played.With his Kentucky trainer John Calipari in the Garden, Quickley had a dud game that was goalless with a 4-0 performance with sales.
Backup center Taj Gibson recorded four blas cke. … longtime Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen, who is also the lead actor on ESPN / ABC, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday. Its induction ceremony was postponed in September due to the pandemic.
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