Tom Thibodeau is about to coach his third NBA team.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Mone/AP.)
Well, the New York Knicks have been a sad sad franchise for a while now. I documented the hopelessness of this team last December. And then a half hour after I published the entry, David Fizdale. They’ve done a little better since Mike Miller took over but they’re still nowhere near the postseason. Their season is finished and they need a boost anywhere.
Tom Thibodeau has been brought back to the Knicks to see if they can be, at least, mediocre. Thibodeau’s ties to the Knicks go back to when he was Jeff Van Gundy‘s assistant. After Van Gundy left, Thibodeau stayed with the Knicks until he followed JVG to Houston. Thibodeau went to Boston in 2007 and was a big contributor as an associate head coach for Doc Rivers. The Celtics won the championship in 2008. After the Celtics failed in their championship bid against the Lakers in 2010, he became a head coach for the first time with the Chicago Bulls. He took the Derrick Rose-led Bulls to the East Finals his first season. He would leave the Bulls after conflicts with the organization in 2015.
He would take over the Timberwolves‘ coaching helm and basketball operations in 2016. He helped the Wolves get back to the postseason for the first time in 14 years in 2018. But he was axed from those positions after a 19-21 start in the 2018-19 season.
Thibodeau is known for his defensive prowess. The Knicks finished 23rd in defensive rating (allowing 113 points per 100 possessions). So they could definitely use help in that department.
Thibodeau is known for playing his guys heavy minutes; some blame him for Rose’s injury in the 2012 postseason when he was still playing in a game in the closing seconds with the game at hand. Luol Deng was known to play heavy minutes for Thibodeau during his stay with the Bulls. So I guess we can look forward to Kevin Knox and RJ Barrett going for 40 per game, right?
Good luck, New York!
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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