NEW YORK — In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s naming of the NBA all-star reserves every question to Tom Thibodeau about the case to be made for Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson would be answered, but with an addendum, the Knicks coach adding a third name into the list of players on the team deserving of consideration.
RJ Barrett.
But on a night when Randle was named an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve and Brunson was absent with a non-COVID illness and snubbed by the coaches voting for the bench players, Barrett was drawing attention for something completely different — being left on the bench two nights earlier for the final 11:51 of action and then continuing his no-show by refusing to speak after the game.
