CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Struggling vet Walker removed from Knicks’ rotation; Burks to start
The Knicks are making a drastic change at point guard just 20 games into the season.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau announced Monday that Alec Burks will become the starter after a 23-point performance in his first start of the season during Saturday’s win in Atlanta. Bronx product Kemba Walker will be out of the rotation entirely “as of right now,” begin- ning with Tuesday’s game against the Nets in Brooklyn. “It’s a tough decision to make, but you always have to do what’s best for the team,” Thibodeau said after practice Monday. “I view Kemba as a starter … and I’ve got great respect for who Kemba is as a person, number one, and all that he’s accomplished in this league. But I have to do what I think is best for the team.”
The 31-year-old Walker, who signed a two-year deal worth $18 million over the summer to play in his hometown, sat out Saturday’s win over the Hawks as the second night of back-to-back games.
Derrick Rose also didn’t play Saturday due to a sprained ankle and is questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Nets, but Thibodeau announcing Walker’s omission from the rotation suggests Rose should return in Brooklyn. Thibodeau also said he’d prefer to “tighten up” his rotation, possibly from 10 players to nine.
“I just don’t like the way we’ve been trending, the inconsistency of our team and we’re gonna try to make a change,” Thibodeau said about switching to the 6-foot-6 Burks. “I want to get bigger. … I want our defense to be more intact.
“The size is the big thing. It makes us bigger. We’ve got small guards and you add [Burks] to the mix, it gives us size at that position. It allows us to do things that are beneficial to the group. So the big thing is getting bigger. At times we play very good defense. Other times, we haven’t. Twenty games into it, we want to take a look at something different.”
Burks is averaging 10.5 points per game in 22.3 minutes, a number that likely will increase with Walker out of the rotation. Thibodeau interestingly stuck with sincedeparted Elfrid Payton as his starting point guard throughout the regular season one year ago, before replacing him in
the lineup with Rose in the playoffs.
“I trust coach. He’s gonna do what he feels is best for the team,” leading scorer Julius Randle said. “It’s our job to go out there and play. And he felt like it just gave us more size and hopefully just more consistency to the starting unit.
“Kemba’s been great, great in the locker room, great teammate, all that. So, he’ll still do the same. But coach just felt like 20 games in, he didn’t want to wait and switch things up.”
Rose’s absence Saturday night left a “Q-rating” backcourt of second-year guard Immanuel Quickley and rookie Quentin Grimes on the second unit, alongside Obi Toppin and rookie center Jericho Sims. The latter received extended minutes (a season-high 21) with big men Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson also sidelined with injuries for the Knicks (11-9).
“I’ve been saying it to you guys,” Thibodeau said. “Every day I see them. Every day they come in early. They put a lot of work in. They are fierce competitors. They’re eager to learn.
They’re just great to be around.
“They played that way. That’s the way they practice. I see it every day. It’s not an end-all, but they went in there and they functioned extremely well together.”
Walker, a four-time All-Star, has averaged 11.7 points while playing 24.5 minutes per game through 18 appearances this season. Both figures would be career lows for the former UConn star. Neither Walker nor Burks was made available to the media after Monday’s practice.
Statistically, the contrast is stark, with the Knicks sporting the worst defensive rating of any team in the NBA when Walker is on the court and the best in the league when he is on the bench, according to The Athletic. They also rank 27th in offense with him playing and ninth when he isn’t on the court.
“I understand, man. It’s tough, especially when you’ve accomplished so much in this league,” Randle said of Walker. “It’s tough, but me, as a teammate, as a friend, whatever it is, he knows I’m here for him to be able to talk, whatever, blow steam off. Whatever it is, I’ll be there for him regardless.
“It’s tough, man. He’s been a great player in this league for so long. He’s done a really good job and been a really good teammate here, as well. But at the end of the day, everybody just wants to win. I think every guy in the locker room just
wants to win, including him. So, whatever we feel is best for the team, we’ll do.”