Tom Thibodeau: Knicks will feel loss of Derrick Rose

Tom Thibodeau said Thursday that Derrick Rose’s absence will be felt far beyond the stat sheet.

Rose, who underwent successful surgery on his right ankle Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, is expected to be out for eight weeks, at which point he’ll be reevaluated, the team said. That timeline could be sped up to six weeks if things progress well, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

"The record obviously speaks for itself, and his impact on the floor, so it was not only what he did himself, but he brought the best out of the people around him," Thibodeau said before the Knicks’ 124-117 loss to the Wizards on Thursday night. "To me, that’s the mark of a great player. You get his net rating, you see it was great last year, great this year."

The Knicks (14-18) are 11-15 with Rose in the lineup. They were 24-11 with him last season, when they went 41-31. He’s averaging 12.0 points and 4.0 assists in 26 games this season, mostly off the bench, and started in three straight games before getting hurt.

Rose, 33, played while experiencing ankle discomfort in last Friday’s win over the Rockets. He managed only 12 minutes before having to be taken out for good in the second half.

Notes & quotes: The Knicks signed guard Danuel House to a 10-day contract. House, who was waived by the Rockets on Dec. 18 and was scoreless in 3:21 on Thursday night, averaged 4.8 points in 16 games with Houston. The signing is considered a hardship exception, as the Knicks still have four players in health and safety protocols after welcoming back Obi Toppin on Wednesday and RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes on Thursday.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.