In his first season with the Knicks, Thibodeau was able to capture the 2020-2021 NBA Coach of the Year Award for the outstanding performance the team put together. New York was one of the best defensive teams in the league and Julius Randle played at an All-NBA level. Derrick Rose was also in the conversation for NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Everything was clicking in his first season.
In year two, it seems as if he was desperate to repeat 2020-21 with the same formula. Randle was the centerpiece of New York’s offense and defenses were well prepared to stop him. Thibodeau was hesitant to switch the rotation numerous times and he was reluctant to try and get other players baskets.
The Knicks had talented offensive players, they just were not utilized correctly last season by the head coach. Evan Fournier was being asked to create his own shot at times when he is truly a spot-up shooter. He could’ve been a lethal weapon, but Thibodeau didn’t do anything to get him involved consistently. The same could be said for Kemba Walker when he was healthy.
When the injuries did occur to Walker and Rose, Thibodeau decided to pencil in Alec Burks as the point guard, even though he’s never played that position before. Immanuel Quickley, along with Miles McBride, were capable of taking the role on.
Mitchell Robinson is also very skilled offensively, but he was rarely involved in the offense at times as well. The Knicks are very talented, yet Thibodeau has struggled to draw up plays for other players on the team who could make serious contributions.
New York Knicks</a> coach Tom Thibodeau is entering his third season and he needs to make sure this team is playing up to their potential. If not, then he should be let go very early on in the season.</p>
<p>This Knicks team is one of the younger teams in the NBA and those young players are very talented. Leon Rose has acquired a plethora of young talent via the draft, trades, and free agency.</p>
<p>For example, New York selected Obi Toppin with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/03/24/obi-toppin-success-previous-two-new-york-knicks-starts-tom-thibodeau-flaw/">but he has only received 14.3 minutes per game over his first two seasons</a>.</p>
<p>Not only is Thibodeau often reluctant to play the younger players on the roster, but he also overuses key players on the roster. Thibodeau is one of the better defensive coaches in the league, but offensively he lacks creativity.</p>
<p>On top of that, he plays those key players for large chunks of the game. RJ Barrett and Julius Randle have both averaged more minutes the past two seasons than Trae Young, Darius Garland, and even Steph Curry. This hurts in later moments of games, which is ultimately one of the main factors why the Knicks often fell apart in the second half last season.</p>
<p>Finally, Thibodeau has struggled a lot in the postseason and holds an overall record of 25-36. Going off of that, he has only won four playoff series while having seven overall appearances in the postseason.</p>
<h2>4 reasons why Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau should be on a short leash</h2>
<h3>1. Thibodeau’s reluctance to play younger players</h3>
<p>For the two seasons that Thibodeau has been head coach, he has rarely played the players that Leon Rose has drafted or traded for. Like I mentioned before, Obi Toppin rarely sees time on the floor.</p>
<p>In the seven games where Toppin’s received more than 30 minutes of playing time, he <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/obi-toppin-stats-in-games-he-plays-30-minutes-or-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">averaged 24.7 points</a>. Thibodeau’s reluctance doesn’t make sense because Toppin averaged 19.0 points per 36 minutes this past season, as he always plays better when he sees more time on the floor.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Obi needs the minutes. If he's going to be here, don't waste that talent, don't waste the asset that you spent a lottery pick on."<a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://twitter.com/KnicksFanTv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@KnicksFanTV on what Obi Toppin's role should be this upcoming season: <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://t.co/DFXpFFrLXJ">https://t.co/DFXpFFrLXJ <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://t.co/ZJF44EKL1x">pic.twitter.com/ZJF44EKL1x
<p>— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1542916386321752065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 1, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Some starters also could have used more time off the court to rest up for the later moments, but <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2022/03/29/tom-thibodeau-comment-new-york-knicks-proves-seen-light/">Thibodeau hesitated to go to the young guys on his bench a lot</a>. Even when he did turn to them, he would pull them off the court quickly.</p>
<p>Cam Reddish is another talented young player on the Knicks roster who rarely saw time on the court. After being traded to New York from the Atlanta Hawks in the middle of the season, he only averaged 14.4 minutes per game.</p>
<p>Reddish is very skilled offensively and has lots of potential on defense with his athleticism. The front office also gave up a first-round pick and Kevin Knox, so most expected to see Reddish get more of an opportunity.</p>
<p>With the direction that this team is headed and all the young talent that they have, it has made some wonder if Thibodeau is the right guy for the job. New York has a plethora of young talent such as Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride, Immanuel Quickley, Toppin, Reddish, and more, but they never see the court enough to actually contribute.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Lack of creativity </a>
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<a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2022/08/17877750.jpeg">
May 13, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>In year two, it seems as if he was desperate to repeat 2020-21 with the same formula. Randle was the centerpiece of New York’s offense and defenses were well prepared to stop him. Thibodeau was hesitant to switch the rotation numerous times and he was reluctant to try and get other players baskets.</p>
<p>The Knicks had talented offensive players, they just were not utilized correctly last season by the head coach. Evan Fournier was being asked to create his own shot at times when he is truly a spot-up shooter. He could’ve been a lethal weapon, but Thibodeau didn’t do anything to get him involved consistently. The same could be said for Kemba Walker when he was healthy.</p>
<p>When the injuries did occur to Walker and Rose, Thibodeau decided to pencil in Alec Burks as the point guard, even though he’s never played that position before. Immanuel Quickley, along with Miles McBride, were capable of taking the role on.</p>
<p>Mitchell Robinson is also very skilled offensively, but he was rarely involved in the offense at times as well. The Knicks are very talented, yet Thibodeau has struggled to draw up plays for other players on the team who could make serious contributions.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The overuse of players </a>
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<a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2022/08/17370192.jpeg">
May 27, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, and Julius Randle are all very good players, but it is important that Thibodeau doesn’t overuse them so that they can be fresh when the Knicks need them most.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Thibs' postseason struggles </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-131682" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2022%2F08%2F1352968294.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/08/1352968294.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2022/08/1352968294-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>4. Thibodeau’s teams struggle in the playoffs</h3>
<p>In the postseason, every team’s flaws are exposed. Thibodeau’s many flaws all add up to one in the playoffs and ultimately factor into the teams that he’s coached always struggling to find success in the playoffs.</p>
<p>Firstly, the key guys on his roster are usually burnt out, which is why his teams have seen early exits frequently. Four times in his coaching career in the postseason his teams have been eliminated in the first round.</p>
<p>The only times he has won a postseason series was with the Chicago Bulls and the MVP version of Derrick Rose. This makes me wonder, even if the team currently constructed is a playoff team, <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/06/18/new-york-knicks-what-coaching-tier-is-tom-thibodeau/">is Thibodeau the guy to get them over the hump</a>?</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Hawks scored 120.2 points-per-100-possessions today against the Knicks. That's the 9th-worst defensive outing by a team coached by Tom Thibodeau in the 60 playoff games he has coached.</p>
<p>— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://twitter.com/MikeVorkunov/status/1399130281379078148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 30, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/08/10/4-reasons-tom-thibodeau-short-leash-knicks-2022-23/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Overall, what really matters is what you do in the postseason. Thibodeau can certainly change the narrative. If he is able to overcome what has haunted him throughout his coaching career in the past, then maybe he can be the coach that the Knicks truly need.</p>
<p>If Thibodeau can’t overcome these struggles, though, and the Knicks aren’t living up to expectations early on into the season, then maybe Leon Rose and the front office should start searching for a new head coach.</p>
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