HOUSTON — The Knicks already arrived in Houston shorthanded and struggling and got more bad news Thursday morning when Kevin Knox was placed into the NBA’s health and safety protocols, now pushing the total to four players sidelined by the COVID policy.
Knox joins Obi Toppin, RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes in the protocols. While Knox had been buried deep on the bench, the absence of the other players had given him an opportunity, and the former lottery pick who had played just 22 minutes over six appearances all season suddenly was on the floor for 48 minutes over the last two games.
He averaged 13.5 points per game over those two games and hit 7 of 15 shots beyond the arc. But now he joins the others in a pause, needing either 10 days from his positive test or two negative tests from samples taken at least 24 hours apart to return to action.
“It’s hard but at the same time you have to be a pro,” Derrick Rose said Tuesday. “You have to do your job and do your best to figure things out and that’s the process that we’re in right now, trying to figure things out.”
The surge in positive tests has hit the NBA hard, and the Knicks hardly are the only team affected or the team most affected. The Chicago Bulls recently had 10 players in the health and safety protocols, and the NBA suffered its first postponements of the season, shutting down two of their games this week to allow them to return players to the active roster. The Nets have seven players in the protocols right now.
But for the Knicks, with seven losses in their last eight games entering Thursday’s game against the Rockets, what might be as bad as the absence of the four players is that the NBA guidelines for teams suffering these outbreaks has caused them to basically halt work outside of the games.
The Knicks were unable to practice Wednesday and had to cancel the morning shootaround Thursday with the league restricting the ability to gather players together. The requirement is for teams to return lab-based PCR tests in the morning before gathering as a team, and the timing of those tests makes a morning workout or early off-day practice almost impossible.
The Knicks, trying to piece together new lineups and combinations, are left to use socially-distanced film sessions and individual workouts instead. With Toppin and Knox sidelined, the Knicks have very limited options for backup power forwards after Julius Randle. Taj Gibson, who did not play Tuesday might be the best option, and little-used Wayne Selden (one minute of action this season) could see time on the court. Even the G League option of bringing up Luka Samanic, who is on a two-way contract, is out as he is sidelined with a left foot injury.
“Yeah, I think it’s a challenge of our whole league,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said earlier this week. “It’s how quickly can you adapt? And it’s constant change. That’s what you have to do. You have different combinations but you have a lot of guys who weren’t in the rotation that have been preparing for their opportunity.
“Obviously Quentin took advantage and played very well. Now he’s out. I thought Kevin gave us good minutes. We have to keep going. No one’s feeling sorry for you. So different teams go through it at different times. That’s where we are and we’re going through it right now. We have to be mentally tough and we have to fight through this.”
