Kemba Walker was left in exile for nearly a month, but with two straight efficient games after being put back in the rotation as a matter of necessity, the veteran might be playing his way back into the fold.
After being benched for nine straight games due to coach's decision, Walker has now scored 50 points in his last two games, most recently a 21-point effort where he added eight rebounds and five assists, finishing with a +9 on the night.
"Terrific," Thibodeau said. "Big shot making, very creative off the dribble, excellent."
Walker nearly led the Knicks to a road win over the Celtics on Saturday, when he poured in 29 points in his first game back in the lineup as a result of multiple players being in the league's health and safety protocols and Derrick Rose being sidelined with a sore ankle. It was just the second time Walker was on the right side of the plus/minus spectrum since Oct. 30, and he followed that up with another strong performance on Tuesday, leading Thibodeau to mull over another change.
"Oh yeah. To me, I have to base it on what the players are doing right now," Thobodeau said. "Whoever gives us the best chance to win, you're gonna be in there. Performance matters. If you're playing well, you're gonna be in there. that's how it works.
"I love Kemba. My job is to do what's best for the team. He's playing great basketball. All the credit in the world to him."
Walker didn't hide his frustration with his benching, and said that he and Thibodeau hadn't discussed the change. But the two clearly celebrated together on the sideline after a Detroit timeout in the second half on Tuesday, and Walker is looking a lot more like the point guard the team hoped they were getting to replace Elfrid Payton.
As for Walker, he has embraced and enjoyed the opportunity to be back on the floor, and is seeing more of that from his teammates as well.
"I'm being more aggressive now than I was in the beginning of the season," Walker said. "I think that's the biggest difference…I'm just being myself, doing what I can to keep us upbeat. I think that's what we've been missing throughout the season, is just the overall joy for the game, so I'm just trying to do my best to keep us upbeat and keep us positive, especially when things haven't been going our way.
"I've been having a lot of fun these last two games. At the end of the day, I'm doing whatever I can to help this team win, whether I'm on the court or off."
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