Could the Knicks be without Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose on Saturday night in Atlanta?
Walker said Friday night that he hasn’t decided whether he will play on the second night of a back-to-back against the Hawks.
The Knicks have had two sets of back-to-backs so far this season. Walker played one of them in full and elected to sit out half of the other one.
Walker played 23:01 in the Knicks’ 118-97 loss to the Suns on Friday at the Garden. He scored 17 points — 5 of 11 from the field, 3 of 6 from 3-point range — but wasn’t much on the defensive end.
Rose sat out his second straight game with an ankle sprain. It’s possible coach Tom Thibodeau was resting him for Atlanta.
If not, the Knicks coach may be forced into giving important minutes to the rookie point guard out of West Virginia, Miles McBride, who came in with 4:04 left Friday and was 1 of 5 from the field. But he’s more of a defensive point guard and there’s been talk of him being a good defensive matchup for Atlanta’s Trae Young. His lone bucket came on an interception that he drove in for a layup.
With Rose out the past two games, Thibodeau has partially filled the void with their other rookie guard, Quentin Grimes. He got a rare five-minute stint Tuesday against the Lakers and played another 17 minutes versus the Suns.
Grimes didn’t take a shot against the Lakers, but Thibodeau liked what he saw from their 2021 first-round pick. Against the Suns, Grimes came out firing, shooting twice — and missing — in his first minute of action. He wound up shooting 1 of 6 (1 of 5 from beyond the arc).
Before Friday’s game, Thibodeau was happy with Grimes’ intellect in his shotless outing.
“He played well,’’ Thibodeau said. “He did a good job. I was very pleased with his minutes. His ability to function within a team concept, he understands when to shoot and when to pass and that’s a big part of winning. So he didn’t force anything and did a good job with his team responsibilities.
“When you have a rookie thrown in that situation that can do that, it speaks a lot about who he is as a person in terms of his preparation and understanding what his role is.’’
Mitchell Robinson made his return from a concussion and played 21:09, scoring seven points to go with eight rebounds.
Elfrid Payton, the Knicks’ starting point guard the past two seasons, was back at the Garden. Payton was in the Suns rotation early in the season when Cameron Payne was hurt, but now he’s getting mostly DNPs as he did Friday. He’s averaging six points and 2.8 assists in the six games he has played.
To take advantage of having an off day in New York on Thanksgiving, the Suns had many family members in town for the holiday.
“It was great anytime you can get together safely,’’ coach Monty Williams said.