Kristian Winfield: Blake Griffin and Kemba Walker are sacrificing for the greater good

NEW YORK — Blake Griffin didn’t see it coming. But it was for the good of the team, so it had to happen anyway.

Sure, the signs were obvious: His jump shot wasn’t falling, while LaMarcus Aldridge’s was mechanical. For a Nets team short its star scoring guard Kyrie Irving (ineligible) and its sharpshooter Joe Harris (ankle), Aldridge’s firepower gave the offense an added dimension, while Griffin’s inconsistency became an eyesore.

“L.A. has been playing unbelievable,” Griffin told reporters at practice on Monday. “So I totally get starting him ... I totally get that.”

Nets head coach Steve Nash made the decision to start Aldridge over Griffin after Aldridge shot 10 of 14 from the field for 21 points and 11 rebounds in a Nov. 22 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. While Griffin struggled defending Jarrett Allen, the ex-Nets big man who tortured his old team on the glass and in the paint early, Aldridge helped neutralize him, then put points on the board.

Griffin, however, hasn’t seen the floor since. He has not played in either of the two games Aldridge has started, and Nash has gone with veterans Paul Millsap and James Johnson in the backup frontcourt minutes.

“Being completely out of (the rotation) though? I didn’t necessarily see that coming,” Griffin said. “But that’s not my decision. As players it’s our job to do whatever coaches see best so at this point that’s what it is.”

It’s a tough pill to swallow, one Kemba Walker is stomaching in real-time on the Knicks.

Walker signed a two-year, $18 million deal to join the Knicks last summer, but has been extinguished after a hot, early start. Walker couldn’t miss in his first few games back in New York City but has since been a liability: The perennial All-Star’s size has always made him a target on defense, but when his shot stopped falling, head coach Tom Thibodeau had to make a change.

That change was removing Walker from the lineup altogether and starting veteran guard Alec Burks at the point instead.

“Those things are never easy,” Thibodeau said, speaking on Griffin’s situation, “but I think when you have a team like they have, he’s asked all those guys to make sacrifices, to put the team first, and that’s a part of being a team.”

Thibodeau harkened back to his days as an assistant coach on the championship Boston Celtics staff. That team had a Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, but to win it all in 2008, each of the stars had to sacrifice shot attempts. He has had to make difficult decisions in each of his coaching stops, including on Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls and the inexperienced Minnesota Timberwolves.

“You have to put the team first,” Thibodeau said. “So for some guys, you may ask him to come off the bench when they’re really starters. Other guys may be starting and you’re asking them to sacrifice minutes: you’re not getting all the starter’s minutes.

“[On the Celtics, the Big 3 were all] 25-plus-point scorers, but when they came to Boston, they dropped into the teens because they all had to sacrifice But the team won a championship, and that’s the most important thing, so you’ve gotta put winning first and put the team first.”

The Nets and Knicks have two very different goals: In Brooklyn, the goal is a championship. Anything less is a disappointment. Across the bridge, the bar is matching last year’s progress of a No. 4 seed and a second-round playoff appearance. Anything more is a cherry on top.

Each of New York City’s teams is asking their players to sacrifice for the greater good. That doesn’t make it any easier. Griffin and Walker share 10 NBA All-Star appearances. They have been franchise cornerstones, for Griffin in Los Angeles and for Walker in Charlotte

“Well I feel for him. That’s not easy,” Nash said of Griffin. “You know it’s tough when you go through a rough stretch of play and the world kind of caves in on you a little bit. I’ve been there and understand it. We have to give other guys an opportunity at this point, but Blake’s had a great attitude. I really admire him for being positive through this and keeping himself ready so if his opportunity comes back, he can have an impact.”

Walker has yet to speak to media since his removal from the starting lineup, and it’s unclear when that opportunity will come if he’s out of the rotation. Griffin says he learned from DeAndre Jordan last season, another former All-Star who was removed from the rotation altogether because another player gave his team a better chance to win games.

“I’m not in the rotation right now so my job is to stay ready. Play with these guys and work out and extra conditioning, shots and just be ready if they need me,” he said. Griffin’s advice from Jordan, and others from last year’s Nets team? “Just be a professional and do exactly what you are supposed to do. It may sound like not good advice but in this situation, everybody always needs to hear the right thing.