Tom Thibodeau was asked who he would start with when point guard Elfrid Payton (hamstring) returns from his hamstring injury. That’s the least of his problems now.
Following his media availability for Tuesday’s game in San Antonio, the Knicks announced that recent starter Derrick Rose is out for COVID-19 health and safety protocols. It was not immediately clear whether he had tested positive or was in close contact with a person with COVID-19.
That could mean that Rose is out until after the All-Star break. The Knicks will close the first half on Thursday against Detroit.
Rose was scheduled to start his fourth consecutive match on Tuesday, but usually all protocols last a week, especially if he was in contact with a person with COVID-19.
“I just decide what’s best for the team,” said Thibodeau when asked who would be the future starter when everyone is healthy.
Frank Ntilikina got the start against the Spurs and Austin Rivers, who had been banned from rotation, was ready to finally get in a game as a backup.
Finally, Thibodeau explained why he often refuses to treat dropout time as dropout time and sticks with his top players in the fourth quarter of eruptions.
“That’s just a talk about the game, what’s going on,” said Thibodeau. “The way people can make up ground with three is that there is no lead that is safe.”
Julius Randle, who played All-Star for the first time, played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter in the Detroit outbreak on Sunday.
Nerlens Noel, the one and only center of the Knicks, played the last nine minutes on the second night from a back-to-back.
The Knicks led the entire fourth place in Detroit with 19 or more points – except when it dropped to 17 by 55 seconds.
When told that the lead seemed very safe against the worst team in the East, Thibodeau said: “I have a lot of faith in our bank, but we also try to find a rhythm with the guys we have and we have different groups that play. A lot goes into it and those are just coaching decisions. ”
Freshman coach Steve Nash won NBA Coach of the Month for February by leading the Nets to a 9-4 record. Erik Spoelstra and Mike Budenholzer received votes. Thibodeau was shut out after going 9-5 last month and flipping a franchise that had been gruesome for seven seasons in a row.
“I never look at that stuff, so for me the focus has to be on the team,” said Thibodeau. “Steve has done a great job, happy for him. Great coach, great person. And they have a whole year. So so. congratulations to him. I want to be able to focus on what we have to do the next day. “
In August, legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told The Post that Thibodeau was “a seasoned veteran who obviously understands what wins and what loses. He knows how to put together a program, create a culture, be demanding. ”
Popovich has proved prescient with Knicks’ record of 18-17 coming in on Tuesday.
“Par for the course, no surprise,” Popovich said before facing the Knicks. “He has standards, holds everyone accountable, sticks to them. And you see the results. He’s doing fine. ”