Tom Thibodeau Says Knicks' PG Rotation 'The Best We Have' After Loss vs. 76ers
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau offered a defense, however tepid, of the team's point guards on Wednesday night after Alec Burks and Immanuel Quickley combined for 20 points and six assists while shooting 6-of-18 from the floor in a 123-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
"They're capable," Thibodeau said. "... You don't see high assists because of the amount of free throws we got."
It's no secret that the Knicks very badly miss Derrick Rose, who has played just 26 games this year after undergoing surgery for a bone spur and had a minor procedure recently to address a skin infection. The Knicks have said Rose remains out indefinitely.
"Yeah, I wish I could answer that, but I can't," Thibodeau told reporters Friday when asked if Rose could return in March. "Obviously, he needs some time right now and then when he's reevaluated, as soon as we get more information, we'll make sure you guys get updated, as well. You just have to sort of let him go through it and be patient with it."
Rose's four assists per game is less than only Julius Randle on the team, who is averaging 5.3 per game. The pair of Burks and Quickley, meanwhile, is combining to average just 5.5 assists per contest. And New York's 21.5 assists per game is the worst mark in the NBA, though the team is shooting 22.9 free throws per game, third in the league.
If the Knicks were winning, it all might be a moot point. But they aren't. Last year's run to the Eastern Conference playoffs has been blotted out by this year's 25-37 record, leaving them just 12th in the Eastern Conference and 4.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final play-in berth.
The lead guard spot has been an issue for the Knicks for years, and this season is hardly the exception, though the team's issues go far deeper than just one position.
The Knicks had a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possession) of 107.8 last year, fourth in the NBA. This year they sit at 17th (110.8). Randle went from averaging 24.1 points and shooting 41.1 percent from three in a career year last year to posting 19.6 points per game this year while shooting 30.1 percent from deep. The Knicks had six players shoot 40 percent or higher from three a year ago. This year, only Rose (40.2 percent) is hitting that benchmark.
A lot has gone wrong for the Knicks. The point guard position is only one chapter in that story.
