[ad_1]
Alec Burks quietly stated Friday that he doesn’t believe his role has “really changed” since he was anointed earlier this week as the Knicks’ starting point guard, ahead of Kemba Walker.
But Burks, an 11-year NBA veteran, logged a career-high 43 minutes in Thursday’s loss to the Bulls, and he has led the team in playing time with at least 39 minutes in each of his three starts since Walker first was “rested” on the second night of back-to-back games last weekend.
Burks previously had averaged 21.4 minutes over his first 19 appearances this season, all off the bench.
“I don’t think everything [has] changed. I played with everybody throughout practice and training camp, so I don’t think it really changed too much,” Burks said after practice Friday in Tarrytown. “We’re all just trying to find ways to help us win, so I don’t think it really changed at all.
“It’s basketball at the end of the day. Never get too high. Never get too low. I think that’s how I live life, not just on the basketball court, but off of it.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau installed the 6-foot-6 Burks as the starter largely because of his size and length at the defensive end, sending the 6-foot Walker out of the rotation entirely.
Burks has netted 21.3 points per game over his three starts, but ahead of Saturday’s game against the Nuggets, the Knicks have lost their past two contests — close losses to the Nets and Bulls — to slide to the .500 mark (11-11) for the first time this season.
“It’s just plays here and there,” Burks said. “The other game against the Nets, one last play at the end, it could’ve been either way. You put the call in the refs’ hands. And [Thursday] night, just people made great plays at the end. We’re getting there. We’re so close. It’ll happen for us. It’ll turn.”
Julius Randle similarly said following the loss Thursday to Chicago that he believes the Knicks are one hot stretch away from making a move in the tight Eastern Conference standings.
Still, they have dropped 10 of their past 16 games following a 5-1 start, and they committed 18 turnovers — including seven by Randle to tie a season high — against the Bulls.
The game Thursday also featured an early ejection for veteran forward Taj Gibson and a brief on-court verbal spat between Randle and Evan Fournier just before halftime.
“We’ll find it. We’ve just got to understand we’ve got to lock up defensively,” Randle said. “We’ve got to get guys healthy, full strength out there. We’ll be fine. It’s 22 games in, a great run can put us at the top of the East within two weeks, so it’s like just keep plugging. But understand we’ve got to have a sense of urgency, too.”
According to Thibodeau, starting wing RJ Barrett has been upgraded to probable against the Nuggets after missing the past 1 ½ games with a non-COVID illness.
Despite the lineup absences, the 31-year-old Walker hasn’t gotten off the bench in the past two games. Rookie Quentin Grimes and even Kevin Knox saw limited minutes Thursday against the Bulls.
“He’s done a good job. He’s a pro’s pro,” Thibodeau said of Walker. “He’s in there. He’s a great teammate. He’s been great in practice. So, that’s what you expect.
“We had a great win [Sunday] in Atlanta. We had a hard-fought game in Brooklyn, then a hard-fought game [Thursday] night. And so, if we can lock in and continue to improve on both sides — sometimes, when guys are out, too, you get a chance to take a look at some other people and so you’re learning more and that’s good, too. So sometimes, you could find things that maybe you weren’t looking at before.”
[ad_2]