NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 02: New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau on the sideline during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on February 2, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
With the New York Knicks sitting at a lackluster 24-31, good enough for only the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference, it is time for some changes to be made.
I believe that one of the biggest factors in the Knicks’ lack of success this season has been the head coach of the team, Tom Thibodeau, who, for the most part, has not been very good this season.
Many Knicks fans on Twitter agree that Thibs should be fired, especially after a brutal coaching error in the Knicks’ most recent game against the Nuggets. The incident caused R.J Barrett to get injured, and now several more Knicks fans have hopped on the “fire Thibs” train.
3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau: Poor offensive game plan:
There are far too many moments where it seems like the Knicks just dribble the shot clock out and chuck up a terrible shot. It’s as if there are no plays to be called.
Offense has certainly never been Tom Thibodeau’s strong suit, this is something we all know. However, New York’s defense, which is supposed to be Thibs’ strong suit, has not been as good this season, either. The Knicks rank 15th in defensive rating.
If the defense is failing, the team must back it up with good offense, this has not been the case at all. If the team is not dribbling the clock out, they seemingly run the same three to four plays that are easy to read for opposing defenses, leading to the team relying on difficult shots far too often.
New York</a> Knicks sitting at a lackluster 24-31, good enough for only the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference, it is time for some changes to be made.</p>
<p>I believe that one of the biggest factors in the Knicks’ lack of success this season has been the head coach of the team, Tom Thibodeau, who, for the most part, has not been very good this season.</p>
<p>Many Knicks fans on Twitter agree that Thibs should be fired, especially after a brutal coaching error in the Knicks’ most recent game against the Nuggets. The incident <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/02/10/knicks-tom-thibodeau/"https://www.yahoo.com/video/knicks-rj-barrett-suffers-ankle-045859199.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caused R.J Barrett to get injured</a>, and now several more Knicks fans have hopped on the “fire Thibs” train.</p>
<h2>3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau: Poor offensive game plan:</h2>
<p>There are far too many moments where it seems like the Knicks just dribble the shot clock out and chuck up a terrible shot. It’s as if there are no plays to be called.</p>
<p>Offense has certainly never been Tom Thibodeau’s strong suit, this is something we all know. However, New York’s defense, which is supposed to be Thibs’ strong suit, has not been as good this season, either. The Knicks rank 15th in defensive rating.</p>
<p>If the defense is failing, the team must back it up with good offense, this has not been the case at all. If the team is not dribbling the clock out, they seemingly run the same three to four plays that are easy to read for opposing defenses, leading to the team relying on difficult shots far too often.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/02/10/knicks-tom-thibodeau/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason #2 </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 26: Evan Fournier #13 reacts with Kemba Walker #8 of the New York Knicks during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on October 26, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User ex, 3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeaupressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau: Horrible rotations</h2>
<p>One of the biggest issues Tom Thibodeau has had all year is his inconsistent. and sometimes terrible rotations. Whether Thibodeau is neglecting young players like Cam Reddish and Obi Toppin, or over-playing veterans like Kemba Walker, his rotations just don’t make sense a lot of the time.</p>
<p>However, what is, in my opinion, Thibs’ biggest issue with his rotations is the fact that he over-plays RJ Barrett, especially as of late.</p>
<p>In Saturday’s matchup against the Lakers, RJ Barrett played 50 minutes. Thibs would go on to play Barrett 43 minutes against the Jazz on Monday and 35 minutes against the Nuggets on Tuesday. That’s 128 minutes in three games over a span of four days.</p>
<p>Things only get worse when you consider what happened in Tuesday’s game against the Nuggets. The Knicks were getting blown out for the majority of the game, yet, for some reason, Tom Thibodeau put RJ Barrett back into the game with the Knicks down 15 with 3:56 remaining in the game.</p>
<p>This in itself is not all that terrible, however, the Knicks made zero progress in making a comeback and Thibs decided to keep RJ in for the remainder of the game. At least, until Barrett went down with an ankle injury with only 18 seconds remaining.</p>
<p>This is very similar to what Tom Thibodeau did with Derrick Rose back on the Bulls. Obviously, the injury was not nearly as bad, but the fact that Thibodeau did not learn from his previous mistakes is scary.</p>
<p>Even without this incident, Tom Thibodeau’s stubbornness in terms of lineup changes has cost the Knicks big-time this season. The fact that he has yet to make a single change to a starting lineup that clearly doesn’t work is disturbing.</p>
<p>If Thibs does not make any changes after the trade deadline it is going to be very difficult to back him up anymore, especially after the incident with R.J Barrett.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/02/10/knicks-tom-thibodeau/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason #3 </a>
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<img class="wp-image-441629 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/02/10/knicks-tom-thibodeau/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2385,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1364323580.jpeg" alt="3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau" width="3200" height="2385" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1364323580.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1364323580-768x572.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 12: Obi Toppin #1 of the New York Knicks looks up at the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks as he stands by teammates Quentin Grimes #6 and RJ Barrett #9 at Madison Square Garden on January 12, 2022 in New York City, 3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>3 reasons why the Knicks should fire Tom Thibodeau: Doesn’t fit the timeline</h2>
<p>With the way the Knicks season is currently going, it is likely that they decide to move most of the veteran players and go back to rebuilding. If they decide to do this, then it makes almost no sense to keep Tom Thibodeau around.</p>
<p>We have seen time and time again just how reluctant Thibs can be when it comes to playing young guys, so I really doubt he would want to coach a losing team full of them.</p>
<p>Tom Thibodeau has often coached for teams full of young players that he helped develop. Whether it was the Bulls with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng, or the Timberwolves with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, he has always made things work with the young guys.</p>
<p>This makes it even more surprising that he is so reluctant to play the young guys more often in New York, especially when the veterans are not playing well.</p>
<p>When Tom Thibodeau first joined the Knicks last season I was not very excited knowing his prior history. However, like many Knicks fans, he stole my heart. I truly thought he was the coach we had all been waiting for. However, this season he has made me angry more than he has made me happy.</p>
<p>I doubt the Knicks make any moves regarding Thibodeau during the season. However, if things continue to get worse, we could see him let go before the start of next season.</p>
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