The New York Knicks had their most successful season in 25 years. They won 51 games. They knocked out the defending champion Boston Celtics. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals and were two wins away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Yet, five days after their elimination against the Indiana Pacers, New York fired head coach Tom Thibodeau yesterday afternoon.
It felt like a move would come this offseason if the Knicks crashed and burned in the playoffs, but they made it all the way to the conference finals. The timing and the move itself were definitely a big surprise, especially with Thibodeau having support from Jalen Brunson, New York’s franchise player. Now, the Knicks will be looking for a fresh voice to lead the team and get them to that next level.
The Knicks should have given Tom Thibodeau another chance
New York hadn’t smelled relevance in any form until Thibodeau arrived in 2020. From 2015-2020, the Knicks lost a combined 329 games over those five seasons. During his tenure, New York went 226-174, missed the playoffs only one time, and won four playoff series, the most success a Knicks’ coach has had since the 90s and early 2000s.
Thibodeau had instilled toughness and a never quit attitude into this team. Time and time again, New York came back into games they shouldn’t have won. That is how they fended off the Detroit Pistons. That is how they went up 2-0 against the Boston Celtics. That is how they went 7-4 in clutch games in the playoffs.
Thibodeau also had his flaws. He lacked the necessary player development skills as a coach to build a deep team. He liked to shorten his rotations and played with eight players most nights, with his starters having a heavy workload.
In that same breath, it's not like the Knicks had many options on their bench. Delon Wright and Landry Shamet are good in pinches, as they showed against the Pacers, but they lack the consistency to be reliable bench options on a contending team.
Guys like Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride have been reliable for the team, but outside of them, there was nowhere for Thibodeau to go. He had seven guys that would be in rotations for other NBA teams. You can’t win with seven playable players in the NBA anymore.
Thibodeau needed more from the front office
New York traded Donte DiVencenzo and Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns and then traded five first round picks to acquire Mikal Bridges. Bridges did not live up to the price tag the Knicks gave up for him, especially on the defensive end.
It is not like the front office gave Thibodeau the resources to have a deep team. Yes, the roster had young talent like Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, and Pacome Dadiet, all players who can become key rotation pieces, but they are rookies that needed time in the G-League this season. They were not ready to contribute to winning this season.
He also lacked offensive creativity, as it often felt like the Knicks’ offense was the Brunson isolation show. Brunson was fifth amongst All-NBA players in isolation possessions (4.5) and was at 4.8 in the playoffs. Adding more player movement and general ball movement is something New York would have benefited from.
Additionally, the Knicks’ defense was spotty this year, as they were middle of the pack in the playoffs (8th, 113.2 defensive rating) and 13th during the regular season (113.3). While they have strong wing defenders in Josh Hart and OG Anunoby and a strong rebounding rim protector in Mitchell Robinson, New York having Brunson and Towns is what hurt them on that end. Both players are defensive liabilities, evidenced by the 116.7 playoff defensive rating when both of them were on the court.
Tom Thibodeau isn't blameless in the Knicks' playoff failure
One thing Thibodeau could have done is stagger them more and have less possessions where both of them could be hunted by the defense. With Towns’ tendency to have dumb fouls and Brunson’s lack of defensive prowess given his size and lack of speed, having both of them share heavy minutes together is a mistake.
However, it is not on Thibodeau if Towns commits a foul he shouldn’t have or if Brunson is in the wrong spot. This is the deck Thibodeau was given when New York decided to go all-in on Towns. Even players were frustrated with Towns' defensive ability throughout the year.
Did Thibodeau make his mistakes? Yes. Was he perfect as a coach? No he was not. Did he make enough adjustments? At times, no. But did the Knicks have their best season in 25 years? Yes. Is he their most successful coach since Jeff Van Gundy? Absolutely.
He should have been given one more chance with a deeper roster and more high-level assistant coaches around him to see if New York could build on this season. Yes, the NBA is crazy, but you simply cannot fire coaches that led a franchise to their most successful season in 25 years. The grass is not always greener on the other side and that could be a lesson New York learns.