START KEMBA. BENCH THIBS.

Note:  Other than the fact that my dog, Kemba, is named for Kemba Walker, and the somewhat peripheral mention of the UConn “Huskies,” this post has little or nothing to do with dogs.  Okay, nothing.

“I hope the Knicks get destroyed tonight,” I said to Carol.

That’s a verbatim quote — from a lifelong Knicks fan.

It was Tuesday night.  We were driving back to Connecticut after a visit to friends in Virginia, and were about to listen to Knicks vs. Nets on the Sirius NBA Radio channel.  The very first thing that morning — before my coffee — I’d gotten an ESPN alert on my phone:  “Coach Tom Thibodeau removes struggling Kemba Walker from New York Knicks rotation”

I immediately jumped on our five-way text chain and forwarded this blockbuster to my three sons, plus Carol.  (Yes, Carol’s a big fan, too.)

Robby was the first to reply:  Fire Thibs.

My sentiments exactly.

First of all, “struggling Kemba”?  How ’bout “struggling entire Knicks team”!  Second, okay, maybe consider dropping Kemba from the starting lineup for awhile.  But out of the rotation?  Send him to rot on the end of the bench?  Turn him into a glorified cheerleader?

This is Kemba Walker!  Orchestrator of maybe the greatest and most unlikely post-season run in college hoops history — culminating with the UConn Huskies winning the 2011 National Championship!  Four-time NBA All-Star!  (Not to mention, the NBA’s all-time leader in smiles.)  The prodigal son (born in the Bronx, starred at Rice High School in Manhattan) and conquering hero, returning to Madison Square Garden to lift his hometown New York Knicks to their former glory!  My family attended the Knicks opening game — a heart-stopping double-overtime win against the hated Boston Celtics.  The crowd reaction to Kemba’s pre-game introduction shook the building.

And then this shabby treatment from Coach Thibodeau?  Shameful.  Kemba deserved better.

“Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau has long been known as resistant to change,” Sopan Deb of The New York Times wrote on December 2.  And yes, I’ve seen this since Thibodeau was hired by the Knicks.  Once Thibs establishes his starting lineup and his 9- or 10-man rotation, he feels he has to cling to them as if they were handed down from the mount on a tablet.  Sure, the Knicks — particularly the starting five — have been struggling of late.  If the coach weren’t so rigid and unimaginative, there are all sorts of things he could have been sampling before resorting to the drastic measure of banishing an icon.  A few thoughts:

•  Tinker with the starting lineup, as well as the rotation, on a game-to-game basis.  Hot hand in, cool hand out.  Mix and match.  Alec Burks is feeling it?  Sure, try starting him for Kemba.  Derrick Rose is on a roll?  Slot him in for Evan Fournier.  Why not?  The starting lineup and the rotation don’t have to be sacred.  Tweaking them doesn’t have to be cataclysmic.

•  Remind Julius Randle that he’s a power forward, not a point guard.  Make him stop bringing the ball up the floor.  Need better ball movement and distribution?  That’s what a point guard is for.  That’s what Kemba Walker does . . . when he’s allowed.

•  Play Obi Toppin, the most dynamic, energetic, and athletic young Knick, a helluva lot more minutes.  Nah.  No can do.  Everyone knows the Thibs rule:  Unseasoned guys have to earn their stripes.

All these possibilities could have been tried before publicly disgracing Walker. Who, by the way, has taken his benching like a pro. Grinning from opening tip to postgame handshakes. Constantly cheering. Jumping off the bench at every timeout to clap the starters and the “rotation players” on the back. No one who’s followed Kemba’s career would expect anything less.

So, Knicks, how’s the shakeup been working out for you?

Well, on Tuesday night — the night I was rooting against the Knicks with all my heart — they lost to the Nets, 112-110.  On Thursday, another loss, this time to the Bulls, 119-115.

Right now the Knicks are 11-11.  Pretty mediocre for a team with supposed above-average talent.  And since Kemba’s benching?  They’re 0-2, blowing both games in crunch time.  After the second loss, I heard NBA TV’s Greg Anthony (a one-time Knicks point guard) comment that the Knicks had no one to create plays at winning time; that they were playing without a true point guard.

Excuse me, but didn’t we sign one of those — and a pretty damn good one — in the off-season?  You know, that guy wearing a mask at the end of the bench?  The one my dog’s named after?

Hey, Thibs, here’s one more thought:  Instead of finding a scapegoat, how ’bout just coaching better?

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