Tom Thibodeau had made his decision to put Kemba Walker on the bench and explained it Monday, but as the Knicks readied to put this new plan to the test at Barclays Center Tuesday night, he wasn’t interested in looking back anymore.
The historical precedent for Thibodeau is to stick loyally with his players far beyond the patience of the fan base. He rode Elfrid Payton all the way into the postseason last year, cutting the minutes incrementally until he finally could not avoid the reality that Derrick Rose was his best player for the postseason and made the move.