What Tom Thibodeau brings to the Knicks

Postseason Experience

As previously stated, Thibodeau was named Coach of the Year after the 2010-2011 season. Led by MVP Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls went 62-20, finishing with the best record in the NBA. Interestingly, this is the Knicks" second attempt at recreating this Bulls" team. First, in 2016, the Knicks added former Bulls Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Rose played 64 games with the Knicks before reuniting with Thibodeau in Minnesota. Noah, however, only managed to play in 53 games for the Knicks. Currently, Noah is playing for the Clippers, while the Knicks are paying him over $6 Million this season.

Now, the Knicks bring in Tom Thibodeau, who led those Bulls to the playoffs in each of his five seasons in Chicago. Thibodeau is a refreshing change of pace for the Knicks because he has lead two teams to the postseason. Thibodeau is taking over for interim head coach Mike Miller, who replaced David Fizdale. While Fizdale struggled in New York, he had previously led the Grizzlies to the playoffs. But they lost in the first round. In New York, Mike Woodson is the most recent man to coach the Knicks to the playoffs, and that was in 2013.

Grit and Grind

Tom Thibodeau has a reputation for making his players work, and work hard. He is known for long practices and relying on heavy minutes from his starters. For example, the 2010-2011 Bulls team previously mentioned had four starters averaged over 31.5 minutes per game. The highest total for a bench player was 22.7 minutes per game. Furthermore, on his 2017-2018 Minnesota Timberwolves, all five starters averaged over 33 minutes per game, while the highest for a bench player was only 20. Some critics believe the extra minutes for the starters contributed to Thibodeau"s shortcomings in the postseason. Additionally, other critics believe it leaves younger role players feeling unprepared and underdeveloped because of lack of playing time. Thibodeau himself has acknowledged the debate over “rest vs rust" and shows no sign of changing his tune.

Many former players of Thibodeau have been vocal about the coach"s practices. "Longer than I expected," point guard Kris Dunn said of his first practice with the Timberwolves. Andrew Wiggins described the Timberwolves practices as “very intense." The idea behind long and intense practices is to get every player into great shape. Typically, the better shape a player is in, the better they perform defensively. This was a hallmark of the aforementioned 2010-2011 Bulls, who had the second best scoring defense in the NBA. However, in three years under Thibodeau, the Timberwolves actually had the third worst defense in the NBA.

Uncertainty

Previously, I asked who would be the Knicks next head coach. They answered that by landing Thibodeau. Unfortunately, what Tom Thibodeau brings to the Knicks, leaves even more questions. The Knicks have 10 players on their active roster age 25 or younger. Will Thibodeau rely on heavy minutes from such a young, inexperienced group? Many basketball observers are looking ahead to the 2021 draft class as very deep with talent. Will the Knicks tank this year? Or will they try to sign a pair of top free agents? The Knicks have certainly been busy with front office moves, but the ultimate question remains to be seen on the court: Will it work?

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Editors Note: The hiring of Tom Thibodeau has been made official per @ShamsCharania