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LOS ANGELES — The Knicks arrived Thursday night, devoid of any stars, to start their five-game western trip.
No Rising Stars. No current stars.
On Thursday, the NBA released its All-Star reserves and Julius Randle was shut out — as expected — denying him a chance of a second straight appearance in the All-Star Game, which will take place Feb. 20 in Cleveland.
“Nah,’’ Randle said when asked if he’s disappointed. “I’m trying to win games. That’s what I get paid to do, win games.”
Randle missed out on a $600,000 All-Star bonus. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Randle is treated like an All-Star considering the attention he’s paid by opposing defenses. But the coach said he didn’t get the selection from the coaching vote because of the Knicks’ 24-28 record — which currently has them out of Eastern Conference play-in round.
“In any given year, there’s always a number of guys who are deserving and don’t get it,’’ Thibodeau said. “There’s not enough spots for guys who have had All-Star type years. A big part of that is the success of the team. I know from voting it’s a tough position for coaches to be in. You get down to the end and you’re wrestling with it. You got three or four guys and two spots or one spot. You’re saying how am I going to determine who actually gets there? Usually the next criteria is what’s the impact on the team. What team is doing better.’’
Asked if Randle is playing at an All-Star level, Thibodeau said: “Yeah, when you look at all the things that he does, our team hasn’t played up to what we should be playing up to. There’s a lot of things that go into it.’’
Randle’s biggest decrease numbers-wise is his 3-point shooting, which has dropped from 41.4 percent to 30.3 percent.
Randle, who didn’t speak to the press following the Knicks’ loss to Memphis on Wednesday, explained why he went into the Grizzlies’ huddle to pick up a double technical with Desmond Bane, who pushed him. Randle also picked up a second technical with 34 seconds left, leading to an automatic ejection.
“I do it all the time, when coming out of timeout,’’ Randle said. “I try to, I guess, cheat almost and see what the other team is running. And I kind of snuck over there to their bench to try to see what was on the board. Bane kind of pushed me, I pushed him back. That was it.’’
LeBron James has missed the Lakers’ past five games with knee irritation. He’s in danger of missing the game Saturday, which would mean not playing against the Knicks for a second straight season. He didn’t play either game last season, and missed the Garden match on Nov. 23.
“You prepare both ways,’’ Thibodeau said. “Whether he plays or doesn’t play, you have to have plan in place if he plays and one if he doesn’t play.”
Former Knick Carmelo Anthony hurt his hamstring against the Clippers on Thursday and likely will be out, too.
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