Outbreak even hits Clyde, too
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau broke into a morbid smile when asked before Tuesday’s game against the Warriors which players were unavailable.
It’s a COVID-19 outbreak now — one that has invaded the Knicks with a greater force than at any point during the 2020-21 pandemic season.
In addition to three players entering COVID-19 protocols, Knicks legend and current broadcaster
Walt Frazier has joined them, according to a source.
The positives started occurring after their recent trip to Indiana and
Toronto. Both those clubs had COVID-19 issues last week.
“Yeah, I think we’re all seeing it and we just have to follow the guidelines the medical staff is recommending,’’ Thibodeau said. “Our medical staff has been fantastic, talking to us about don’t let your guard down. There’s more coming. You try to take every precaution possible — the mask, 6 feet apart. We all have to deal with it.’’
Knicks rookie shooting guard Quentin Grimes became the third player to hit the protocols with the announcement Tuesday morning, shutting him out of that night’s game.
Grimes was coming off a breakout 27point performance Sunday against Milwaukee when he hit a rookie-record seven 3-pointers in his first career start.
Already Knicks power forward Obi Toppin, who previously had the hot hand, was put into protocols Saturday night and missed the game against the Bucks. Then RJ Barrett was put into protocols Sunday morning and was also absent versus Milwaukee.
The shred of good news was Alec Burks, who missed the Bucks game due to personal reasons, returned.
The team’s Kemba Walker-free starting lineup against the Warriors had Burks filling in for Barrett at small forward and Derrick Rose staying at point guard. That kept Walker, the former starting point guard, still in Knicks’ prison in a decision that so far has backfired. Burks had been the starting point guard replacing Walker initially.
In fact, the Knicks’ best point guard still might be Frazier, who turned 76 last March. He is expected to miss 10 days as the virus keeps spreading through the organization.
MSG Network’s Wally Szczerbiak is expected to fill in for Frazier for many of the games.
The three players need two negative tests 24 hours apart to return before the 10day maximum. The Knicks fly Wednesday to Houston for a game Thursday, so it’s unclear if they can even board the plane.