Even with the Knicks down 30, no playing time for Kemba Walker
Knicks guard Kemba Walker (8) watches from the bench during the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec 4, 2021. Credit: Brad Penner
With the Knicks down by 30, it might have seemed like a chance for coach Tom Thibodeau to empty his bench — and perhaps give Kemba Walker an opportunity to get back onto the floor.
But Thibodeau instead inserted some of his starters and left Walker sidelined for a fourth straight game.
After the Knicks’ 113-99 loss to the Nuggets on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Thibodeau indicated that right now, there is no opportunity for Walker to play.
"I do have respect for him," he said. "He’s part of the team and right now we have a rotation. He’s not in the rotation, but he’s working in practice. He’s doing all the things he should be doing. As I mentioned before when I made that decision, I view Kemba as a starter."
While Thibodeau would not rule out more changes, inserting Walker back in the lineup as a starter won’t be one of them.
As far as putting Julius Randle back in the game with 6:57 to play and the Knicks trailing by 30, Thibodeau pointed to the future — trying to find combinations that work for the team.
"Yeah, we ended up playing Julius at the five with Obi [Toppin] and we were just trying to find something," Thibodeau said. "When you get down the way we were getting down, you’re searching. I thought Quentin [Grimes] gave us good minutes. I like the way he played. I thought he played hard. He played both sides of the ball. He shot when he should shoot and he passed when he should pass.
"I thought that hurt us at the beginning of the game. I thought we had some wide-open shots that we hesitated on. And you can’t do that. And then we ended up taking a tougher shot. And when you’re open, you’ve got to shoot.
"Right now, we’re out of sorts. And we’ve got to get back in. So just get into the gym, let’s put our work in and let’s fix it. That’s all I want our guys thinking about."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
