Employed in 2020, Thibodeau went 226-174 with the Knicks. He turned the primary coach since Mike Woodson (2012-14) to finish his tenure with a successful document and elevated a franchise that had been irrelevant for a lot of the 2010s.
Whereas Thibodeau must be celebrated for what he completed, together with main New York to the Jap Convention Finals for the primary time since 2000, the Knicks wanted to make this transfer.
The workforce has a gifted core, and it is truthful to marvel if Thibodeau acquired it so far as he might.
Regardless of being thought of one of many recreation’s prime defensive-minded coaches, the Knicks could not cease the Pacers of their six-game sequence loss, permitting 116.8 factors per recreation.
With the workforce’s greatest stars, level guard Jalen Brunson and middle Karl-Anthony Cities, struggling defensively, Thibodeau’s model did not mesh with the workforce’s prime expertise.
The Knicks want a coach who can maximize their offensive strengths whereas minimizing their defensive liabilities. With a finite variety of seasons as a bonafide contender, they could not look forward to (or count on) Thibodeau, 67, to turn out to be that coach.
Thibodeau additionally relied extra closely on his starters than another coach, taxing the unit with substantial minutes. That wear-and-tear is not sustainable, and New York’s starters would probably have been subjected to the identical utilization in 2025-26 below Thibodeau.
The choice might backfire, however with some wonderful candidates available on the market, together with just lately fired former champion head coaches Michael Malone and Mike Budenholzer, plus youthful former Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, New York has intriguing choices to get the group again to the NBA Finals.
It is affordable to be skeptical of the Knicks, who we have grown accustomed to seeing get issues mistaken extra typically than they get it proper.
Thibodeau’s firing comes with dangers, however sustaining the established order would have had its personal penalties.
As a substitute of taking the identical strategy and anticipating a distinct consequence, New York is making an attempt one thing totally different. What’s so loopy about that?
