[ad_1]
Slumping guard Kemba Walker was “rested” for the first time this season Sunday night against the Cavaliers, the start of games on back-to-back nights for the Knicks.
Coach Tom Thibodeau would not commit to Walker being in the lineup Monday night in Philadelphia.
“We’ll see. We’ll see. We will sit down with the training staff and Kemba,” Thibodeau said before the Knicks lost, 126-109, to the Cavaliers at the Garden. “If he’s comfortable, then he goes. If not, we’ll give him another day. It’s how he feels; that’s the big thing.”
The 31-year-old Bronx native didn’t play both ends of back-to-backs last season in Boston for maintenance purposes, but the Knicks hadn’t indicated definitively what the plan for Walker’s availability would be in such situations since he inked a two-year deal worth $18 million with his hometown team in August.
Derrick Rose moved from the second unit into the starting lineup and scored 17 points with five assists and zero turnovers in 29 minutes in place of Walker, who had totaled nine points over his previous two games. Walker’s four-point outing against the Pacers last Wednesday ended a 40-game streak of scoring in double digits that dated to Feb. 9.
“The medical people recommended rest [for Walker], so here we are,” Thibodeau said. “The big thing is there’s a lot of parts to this. There’s obviously [what] the medical people recommend.
“The player has a lot of say, too, because the player has to trust his body. That’s an important part of this equation, which we don’t take lightly. That factors into it. Performance factors into it. Everything factors into it. We always have to do what’s best for our team but the player’s health and wellness is priority.”
Rookie guard Quentin Grimes received his first extended minutes of the season with Walker sidelined, playing the entire fourth quarter. The first-round pick out of Houston connected on 2 of 3 3-point attempts and finished with six points after logging just six total minutes over two mop-up appearances in the Knicks’ first nine games.
“When you’re behind like we were, you’re searching. Whatever the plan was, that’s out of the window and then you try to get some energy and life,” Thibodeau said. “I think it’s important. You have a rotation.
“He’s always working. He stays ready. We’re looking for energy as far as, we felt like maybe he could give us something. I thought he did a good job. Unfortunately, we have one crack to get back in, and we didn’t get it done.”
[ad_2]