Two of the top players Tom Thibodeau ever coached – and the two players probably most responsible for his NBA championship – believe he’s being “stubborn” with his minutes distribution and it’s going to cost the Knicks in the playoffs.
“At some point, you got staff, you got assistants, you got a GM, you got presidents (who should tell Thibodeau to stop playing the starters so much),” Kevin Garnett said on his podcast, “Ticket & The Truth,” co-hosted by Paul Pierce.
“And, it’s a data league, bro. Data is probably telling you, ‘Hey, the starting 5 is playing way more minutes than the average starting 5 in the league. So I’m sure he’s heard this. It goes back to what Paul just said – (Thibodeau) is so stuck in his ways and he knows how to win one way, man.”
The conversation about Thibodeau turned into a story from their time together in Boston, when the current Knicks coach was a Celtics assistant helping guide the franchise to the 2008 championship.
Garnett got into an argument with Thibodeau, who the power forward believed was pushing the players too hard in a drill.
Garnett went for the deep cut by telling Thibodeau, “You’re never going to be a head coach,” and, according to Pierce, “It was like two alphas standing up right there and I was like, ‘Thibs ain’t backing down, I know Ticket ain’t backing down.’ But he’s stubborn though sometimes. I think he gets stubborn.
“He’s a great coach, don’t put nothing in that way,” Pierce added. “But sometimes he gets stuck in his ways and is stubborn.”
Garnett suggested the Knicks stars take a similar approach with Thibodeau.
“My only problem with a lot of the traditional stuff, it doesn’t download the latest update. Our league is high-paced. …Scores are 130 to 140 (points). The average is 120. That is All-Star (Game) s–t. The pace of the league is the reason why we’re looking at it like that,” Garnett said.
“On top of that, no one has told Thibs – including the players. If I’m Karl-Anthony Towns or I’m (Jalen Brunson), I’m pulling Thibs in the room and I’m saying, ‘Listen.’ It’s a players league, they can get this off. Thibs so stubborn, though, that I don’t know. But it’s going to have to be something. Because you can’t go up against the Bostons, the Clevelands and not have a bench.”
The Knicks entered Friday with four of the NBA’s top-5 players in total minutes – 1. Mikal Bridges, 2. Josh Hart, 3. OG Anunoby and 5. Jalen Brunson.
There are several reasons for those numbers, beyond just Thibodeau’s long-standing inclination to extend the minutes of his starters.
The Knicks have been largely healthy this season and haven’t missed as many games as the rest of the NBA. They’re also predictably thin on the bench after splurging on their starters in the offseason, leaving few assets and no cap space to fill out the roster.
The result and, perhaps, tired legs are the Knicks entered Friday at No. 22 in net rating in fourth quarters at -2.9 while being outscored by 28 points. Conversely, for the first three quarters, they were ranked no lower than No. 8 in net rating and outscored the opposition by 244.
“I think it’s clear cut obvious with the Knicks,” Pierce said. “They’re front-loaded with their starting lineup. They’re getting run into the ground. They’re all playing 40-plus minutes – and I said this from Day 1 – they don’t have depth.
“So now they’re depending on all their starters to play 40 minutes, the s–t is going to get you. Now we’re at the halfway mark. Everyone has played 40, 41 games. They’re getting tired. They’re getting tired. And I’ve said this – they’re good, and they’re going to probably win a playoff series. But they got to make a move or they got to wait until (Mitchell Robinson comes back).
“They need some depth. They need some depth at the perimeter, actually. Because they’re all playing 40 minutes for them to win. They’re all going to get their numbers. It’s going to look sweet. But they’re going to get tired in that fourth quarter. And that’s what I’m seeing.”
Pierce said the Knicks should trade for a perimeter player but also implored Thibodeau to use his bench more often.
Heading into Friday, the Knicks were ranked dead-last in bench points, bench minutes but had a decent bench net rating (ranked No. 8).
“If you don’t trust these guys, this is the time to start developing them,” Pierce said.
”
