A FULL ROTATION
Player of Week award helps complete Kemba turnaround after return from benching
From the end of the bench to the best in the East. Kemba Walker was awarded the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week on Monday, the first Knick to win that honor this season. It was a belated Christmas gift for the point guard after he averaged 25 points, 8.3 assists and nine rebounds over a three-game stretch.
The Knicks went
2-1. OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was honored for the West.
Walker, 31, only received the opportunity because New York’s roster was decimated by injuries and COVID-19 infections, leaving Tom Thibodeau with no other viable options. He previously removed Walker from the rotation and started Alec Burks, Derrick Rose and Miles McBride ahead of the fourtime All-Star.
Walker returned from the coach-imposed hiatus Dec. 18 against his former team, the Celtics, dropping 29 points in 37 minutes. He followed up with 21 points and eight rebounds in a win Tuesday over the Pistons, then 44 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a loss to the Wizards.
In Saturday’s victory over the Hawks,
Walker became the first Knick to record a triple-double on Christmas.
Walker said his benching was “a blessing in disguise” and he returned more aggressive.
“I have a tendency of not wanting to step on toes, and that’s what I did early on,” he said. “I wasn’t being as aggressive I think as I could’ve been. Being out, seeing how the game was flowing and going, put me in a different mindset.”
There’s shorthanded teams and then there’s the utterly ravaged Timberwolves, who happen to be the Knicks opponent Tuesday.
Minnesota had seven players in COVID-19 protocols as of Monday night, including their three top players Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards.
The Knicks, meanwhile, seem to be on the other side of their COVID-19 outbreak and only had three players in protocols — Nerlens Noel, Miles McBride and Jericho Sims.
New York is entering its easiest stretch of schedule with their next 13 opponents holding a record of either .500 or worse before Monday night’s game.
SHIRT OFF THEIR BACKS
The Knicks have appeared to ditch the Classics.
The team’s 75th anniversary throwback white uniforms were pulled from the rotation on the NBA’s public interface, replaced in each instance with the traditional white jerseys.
The Knicks were among just three teams scheduled to wear “Classic” jerseys this season, along with fellow NBA originals the Celtics and Warriors. They were introduced as odes to the jerseys worn during the inaugural campaign on the league’s diamond anniversary. Most importantly to Nike, they’re another revenue stream and still selling on the company’s website for $130.
A source said James Dolan was down on the uniforms, which last appeared at MSG on Dec. 12 in a loss to the Bucks, although it’s unknown why they were pulled from the league’s master schedule. A spokesperson for the MSG Company declined to answer questions about Dolan’s involvement or his potential reasoning, offering only a statement: “The team changes jerseys all the time.”
The Knicks rocked their “Classic” unis nine times, including the season opener against the Celtics, and were scheduled for 12 more before the switch. They went 5-4 in the jerseys but lost three of their last four and were smoked by the Bucks at MSG, 112-97.
The Knicks could always change back to the Classic jerseys and alterations are common. But LockerVision, the league’s website that publicizes each team’s schedule of uniforms, had swapped all the remaining Knicks “Classic Edition” games to the regular white “Association Edition.” The first switch was Thursday in a 124-117 loss to the Wizards.
The next game originally scheduled to feature New York’s classic jersey was Jan. 6 against the Celtics.
Nike signed a reported eight-year, $1 billion apparel deal with the NBA that started in 2017. The uniform schedule is public on Lockervision.nba.com.
With the advent of the Nike deal, teams have had least four uniforms in a rotation and they’re scheduled to maximize market exposure. The Knicks were given five uniforms this season.
In 2013, there were reports of the team contemplating the removal of the unpopular all-orange alternate jerseys.
Dolan has returned to his baseline seats after spending most of the pandemic season out of sight. In the Christmas contest against the Hawks, he sat next to members of the Knicks front office, including GM Scott Perry.
The Knicks (15-18) are entering their easiest stretch of schedule on Tuesday, when they face the Timberwolves in their traditional white “Association Edition” jersey.