Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has come out in support of starting point guard Elfrid Payton, despite the vet’s shooting difficulties during the final month of the regular season, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Popper notes that Derrick Rose and Alec Burks have been taking on an increasing amount of minutes at Payton’s position, especially late in games. Payton will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“There’s things that Elfrid provides for us that are a big asset to our team,” Thibodeau said of the Knicks guard. “His size, his defense, those are important factors. … You don’t have to shoot well to play well.”
There’s more out of the Big Apple:
- Nets All-Star guard James Harden has not been his normal high-scoring self during his first two games back from a hamstring strain, per Malika Andrews of ESPN. Harden, who was sidelined for five weeks, seemed optimistic despite averaging just 11.5 PPG in the contests. “My impact doesn’t have to show up on the stat sheet for us to win,” Harden said. “I think my job as a leader is to make sure everybody’s playing well. If I’m doing that, I can focus on myself last. That’s not a problem at all.”
- The Knicks are hoping to house approximately 13K fans when the playoffs kick off, tweets Ian Begley of SNY. “We’re incredibly excited to bring playoff basketball back to [Madison Square Garden, New York’s home arena] and to have the best fans in the league give us a true home court advantage,” team president Leon Rose said. As the fourth seed, the Knicks will be able to play four of their playoff series’ seven potential games at home.
- The Nets will need sharpshooting All-Star forward Kevin Durant to also give his all on defense for the team to best sharpshooting All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and the Celtics during the teams’ first-round playoff series, says Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
Appreciate the Tatum praise, but even if KD doesn’t give his all on defense I still don’t see the C’s keeping the series close…unfortunately thinking Nets in 5
Lol yeah I mean Tatum is no slouch but I don’t know if he’ll have the energy to score while carrying the load for the other 4 guys on the floor more than 2, 3 games in a row.
It’s not like beating the Wizards was some big accomplishment.
They might not even beat Indiana tomorrow, especially if the Pacers can play at least half as well as they did against Charlotte. Washington sucks.
Washington > Houston
“You don’t have to shoot well to play well.”
Depends on how many shots you’re taking.
Problem is his ast are way down too. He’s not playing well. Thibs is just backing his guy up. Our bench will have to come thru
Tibs is doing what he should as a coach. U got a guy struggling, u don’t go out and say he needs to b better to play a week before the first playoff game. U say what u need too, knowing u have DRose behind him. Just like he did with Frank… Say he may b used for defense even tho I doubt he plays but 10 mins the whole series. Just to keep those guys heads in it. They need Randle to b huge or they won’t have a chance.
It’s a very 2007 quote. In this era you kind of do need to shoot well to play well. But then again you can’t slander Payton in public.
Hamstrings are a weird type injury. They usually prolong rather than heal. They take awhile and if pushed can act up. Then you are out 2-3 wks. Nets will pay a price for their arrogance all year. Playoffs intensity will up the chances here. Too bad Celtics are missing Jalen. Cause they rest Harden even more.
Knicks home court will help team. Hope it gets Payton out of his funk. Hawks are talented but also young. Knicks have matched up well with them. They are confident they will compete. They know they have to work for win. We know who we are and how we get it done. Time to bring it. Let’s Go Knicks
First time I do wholeheartedly agree with Thibs, most certainly you don’t have to shoot it well to play well, it helps, but shooting is only one aspect of the game, many more important things going on than just shooting!
15,000 fans in MSG. Hawks are done Lol.
How can you wait this long to be in playoffs. Then first thing you do is CRY about Knicks making it. You think we are not listening. We will show you who real fans are.