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The Knicks are out of playoff contention, and Julius Randle is out of the lineup.
Coincidence?
Randle won’t play Saturday against the Cavaliers because of a lingering quad injury, but that should not be seen as an indication that coach Tom Thibodeau is going to manage the last five regular-season games as throwaways. There is no plan to shut down Randle, the team said, even though the Knicks’ faint postseason hopes died Thursday with a win by the Hawks.
“The important thing is for us to finish these five games playing the way we’ve been playing,” said Thibodeau, whose team has won nine of its last 14 games. “We had a heavy road schedule and came out of it playing pretty well. So, I want to continue that, take that momentum into the offseason and help prepare us for next year.”
Thibodeau is not expected to take minutes away from veterans to increase the roles for first- and second-year players Jericho Sims, Obi Toppin, Miles McBride and Immanuel Quickley, who combined for 55 minutes off the bench last game. There are other forms of experimentation.
“There’s a lot of things you may want to tweak. This is a good opportunity for that,” Thibodeau said. “But there’s things you may want to work on, too. If you are ahead, you may want to get a look at this. If you are behind, you may want to get a look at this. Game situations are very valuable, particularly where we are.”
Rookie guard Quentin Grimes (knee) will miss his fourth straight game after limited work at Thursday’s practice. Derrick Rose (ankle) and Cam Reddish (shoulder) remain sidelined.
“The guys that are nicked up, we’ll let them get healthy before they go back out there,” Thibodeau said. “If you want to call it load management but … if you can play, I want you to play.”
Three of the Knicks’ last five opponents are playoff-bound, but the Cavaliers and Nets (Wednesday) are jockeying for position in the play-in tournament. That means an opportunity to play spoiler.
“That’s a fun role to play,” guard RJ Barrett said.
Not nearly as fun as the role of contender, which the Knicks were at this time last season.
“Definitely feels different hearing that you’re eliminated. For sure, disappointed,” Barrett said. “It just didn’t really click until after the All-Star break.”
Because next year’s team could have a different look even without losing any key contributors to free agency, the idea of a prideful finish carrying over through an offseason can be a bit of fool’s gold.
Development is not as misleading, however, which is why Thibodeau’s message to players — echoed through the work ethic of veteran Taj Gibson, even as he sits the bench — is that no one stays the same and every day is an opportunity to get better or worse.
“Learn the details of every play. Learn the details of every scheme. Give great effort every day. Focus on winning. Make winning plays,” he said. “And that’s where I want it to be. Just keep doing what you’re doing. That’s how you get better. I don’t want you doing anything foolish to hurt the team. This is about improvement.”
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