According to an NBA insider, recently sacked New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was not always aligned with some of his players last season.
Despite having their best season in a quarter-century and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, where they knocked out the defending champion Boston Celtics, the Knicks decided Thibodeau was not the right fit long-term. The front office did not see him as someone who could take them all the way to a title.
Mike Brown has come in to replace him. Brown most recently guided the Sacramento Kings to a three-seed and is highly regarded around the league for his basketball knowledge, something that dates back to his time as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.
Tom Thibodeau and two Knicks players did not mesh well
Thibodeau’s approach was shaped by his old-school background. He pushed his teams hard, both in training and during games, and focused heavily on defence. That style produced results: Thibodeau picked up Coach of the Year honours twice, first in 2011 and then again a decade later.
He also set a league record as the fastest coach to reach 100 career wins back in 2012, and last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals was his second trip that far in the play-offs.
But even with those achievements, he did not always see eye to eye with everyone. Mikal Bridges, who joined the Knicks this summer on a $150 million deal, never really clicked with Thibodeau. That might have played a part in why the team decided to move on from him.
Speaking on The Ringer NBA Show, insider Fred Katz said: “There were certain players in the locker room that didn’t see eye to eye with Thibs. I don’t think Thibs ever really worked great with Mikal Bridges. I don’t think the basketball fit optimized great.”
Jalen Brunson appreciated Thibodeau’s style. The star guard shared his coach’s work ethic and desire to win. And most of last year’s team felt similarly. But despite their success on the court, there were still issues behind closed doors.
Katz added: “Thibs was an amazing coach for Jalen Brunson, an amazing coach for Donte DiVincenzo. I don’t think he was a great coach for Mikal Bridges. And maybe not an amazing coach for OG Anunoby. Those guys had disagreements on certain things.
“When you have that sort of dynamic from year to year, I think the Knicks felt that they needed a change there.”
A story about Tom Thibodeau reveals the biggest issue with his approach
The main criticism of Tom Thibodeau has always been how much he leans on his starters over a long season. He is known for running his core group into heavy minutes, which has raised concerns about fatigue by playoff time.
No other team played their starting five as much as the Knicks did last season, and Bridges led the league again with 3,036 total minutes played across 82 games. It’s another example of how Thibodeau’s minute allocation became an issue between him and Bridges.
Katz said: “There was some stuff with the minutes with Thibs, where I was like, ‘Alright, that’s a lot.’ I will never forget being at the Knicks-Hornets game in December, when the Knicks were up 24. It was one of those games where the Knicks took a huge lead early, and it was just over in the first quarter.
“Knicks are up 24 with 1:30 left, and Thibs pulls Mikal Bridges. It was the first time he pulled him in the whole game. He had played 46 and a half consecutive minutes, and the Knicks were up 24. “I was like, ‘That is not necessary.’”
In March, Bridges revealed that he had already spoken to Thibodeau about the distribution of minutes.
“Sometimes it’s not fun on the body. You’ll want that as a coach, but also talked to him a little bit, knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48, 47,” he stated.
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