Derrick Rose took advantage of the first start of his season as a goalkeeper in first possession.
Rose started Knicks’ 140-point burst by breaking the basket and turning a left runner off the glass. Knicks have never stopped scoring in the first game Elfrid Payton has missed this season.
Will this be the passing of the torch or just a night stand? Rose scored 18 points, making the first six hits in the Knicks’ 140-121 victory over the terrible kings on Thursday in the festive garden.
Remember when Rose came on board? Tom Thibodeau’s first remarks were that Rose would “initially” come off the bench.
Payton sat down with a painful ham, and Rose, purchased this month, was anointed as the starter – his first Knicks start of the 2016-17 season, when he was first with the team.
Although Rose, 32, started 618 games in his career before trading, he had a 25-minute restriction with Detroit.
“It’s not hard,” Rose said before the game. “It’s basketball. It’s still basketball, bro. Giving the boys the ball where they want the ball. Thibs will put us in a great place to be prepared in certain situations, and my job is just to push the ball, so just apply pressure whenever I can and play my game. I don’t think I need to think too much. I was a beginner most of my career. So it shouldn’t be too hard. “
Former Knicks coach David Fizdale will always wonder what he could have looked like last season if Payton hadn’t tightened his basket in the fifth game of the season. By the time Payton returned from an 18-game absence, Fizdale was 4-18 and was fired after Payton’s first rusty game.
It was quite different for Payton in his second season as Knick. He was an ironman, playing in the first 32 games before Thursday.
Payton made a decision during the game, but canceled it after making a handful of free throws an hour before disconnecting. He has an average of 12.4 points, 3.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds at 44.1%.
Payton’s ham acted in Tuesday’s game against Golden State. It was durable – and effective – keeping the cries for rookie Immanuel Quickley to start before him before Rose arrived.
“As for Elfrid’s value to the team, we’ve seen it,” Thibodeau said. “His strengths are different from other boys – his size, his ability to guard the ball and his ability to get into the paint are invaluable. He had a very good season. ”