Tom Thibodeau, Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
What if Tom Thibodeau is exactly what the New York Knicks have needed?
Maybe Tom Thibodeau won’t be a total grease fire leading the New York Knicks after all?
The Knicks have been nothing short of a circus in the NBA‘s Eastern Conference for the better part of two decades. Yes, they had some moments of brief competence. Linsanity was amazing. That one year Carmelo Anthony was spectacular playing for former Mike Woodson was simply unforgettable. But for the last several seasons, they’ve epitomized being hopelessly terrible.
Hiring Thibodeau was controversial. Former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was available and so was former Nets coach/superstar point guard Jason Kidd, as he’s serving as Frank Vogel’s top assistant on the Los Angeles Lakers. Yet, Knicks owner James Dolan went with someone he’s more readily familiar with in Thibodeau. So what are the Knicks doing with Thibs?
Could Tom Thibodeau be the panacea for what has ailed Knicks basketball?
Thibodeau has his reputation as an NBA coach. He is a defensive guru and one who is very intense. While he does grind on players and quickly wears them out, he does get results, regardless of if his players even want to play for him. He’s been the best head coach of the Chicago Bulls since Phil Jackson. He even led the toothless Minnesota Timberwolves to the playoffs not that long ago.
Thibodeau had been an assistant under former Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy. He outlasted Van Gundy by a few years, as he stayed on Don Chaney’s staff. Thibodeau rejoined Van Gundy with the 2004 Houston Rockets. Thibodeau coached for Doc Rivers with the Boston Celtics beginning in 2007, assuming the title of associate head coach. He got his own team with the Bulls in 2010.
In parts of eight seasons as an NBA head coach, Thibodeau is 352-246 with a 58.9 career winning percentage. Outside of the 2018-19 NBA season where he only coached 40 games with the Timberwolves, Thibodeau has guided his team to the NBA playoffs six out of seven times. Since being fired, Minnesota has gone 36-70 with Ryan Saunders serving as the team’s head coach.
So while it’s incredibly easy to pile on a guy like Thibodeau, let’s give the man a chance to see if he can make the Knicks a winner again. He’ll surely be better than whoever the hell has been coaching the team since Woodson was last in charge. At his core, Thibodeau has an identity and the big stage of coaching in New York won’t be an issue. Neither will coaching in utter dysfunction.
For whatever reason, Thibodeau keeps agreeing to coach teams with bad ownership and even worse front offices. This is why the Bulls, the Timberwolves and the Knicks can’t stop getting out of their own way. However, Thibodeau’s tenacity and undeniable love for the game of basketball could be what helps get the Knicks back into the playoffs here soon. Like, he did it in Minnesota!
Thibodeau may be a total tire fire, but he’s the Knicks’ best shot at being good in the early 2020s.