Miles McBride expected to stay in the rotation in place of Derrick Rose, Cam Reddish

It has been well documented how frustrated Knicks fans have been with this season, with coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotations and substitutions often at the root of a lot of those frustrations. So it was interesting to see the veteran-reliant coach go to the second-year guard Miles McBride with his first substitution 7 minutes into the game this past Sunday. McBride didn’t leave much of a mark offensively, but played a crucial part in a defensive effort that held the Cavaliers to just 81 points. But the news wasn’t just about McBride as it was about Derrick Rose, who is often the first guard in the game.

Rose is currently in the midst of the worst seasons of his career. Despite showing flashes of still being one of the best playmakers and slashers on the team, the former MVP has found trouble staying consistent in his limited minutes. In just 13.6 MPG, he’s averaging a career-low 6.4 PPG. Regardless of his subpar play, however, it was still surprising to see Thibodeau not only go to McBride first, but completely take the veteran point guard out of his lineup due to the history and the close bond the two share.

During Tuesday’s practice, Thibs apparently announced that Rose won’t be back in the rotation for Wednesday’s game against the Hawks. Joining Rose (and the long-since banished Evan Fournier) on the outside of the rotation is promising young wing Cam Reddish.

With Thibodeau wanting to tighten his rotation to a nine-man rotation rather than the 10-man rotation he had been running for much of the season, it was clear that someone was going to get left out. But many believed, or at least had hoped, that Cam Reddish would still find himself getting some kind of consistent run due to his recent improvements on both sides of the ball. It’s nice to see Thibodeau giving McBride more minutes over Rose, since it seems like Rose’s time in New York is coming to an end. But it’s also incredibly frustrating to see Reddish, who accepted his role and did everything Thibodeau and the team asked of him, go from the starter to being completely out of the rotation in a matter of a few weeks.