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After seeing such great heights with a masterful eight-game winning streak, the New York Knicks have plummeted back down to earth with what is now four-straight losses, most recently coming in a blown-lead defeat on the road against the Dallas Mavericks, with a final score reading 126-121.
With a historic 60-point, 21-rebound triple-double by All-World talent Luka Doncic, the Mavs clawed their way back from a nine-point deficit within the final 20 seconds of regulation, making them the first team in the last 20 seasons to accomplish such a feat.
Though there were numerous reasons for the ultimate demise of the Knicks, with Jalen Brunson’s absence and RJ Barrett’s early exit from the contest, many fans seem to be pointing their fingers at Tom Thibodeau for this world-class blunder and, as a result, the torches and pitchforks have once again come out as they have recommenced with their pleas for a coaching change.
With an emphasis on the fact that the Knicks had four players logging 45 or more minutes on the night, many fans are casting the entirety of the team’s loss on the fact that Thibodeau was “riding” his players too hard, and that he should have substituted some of them out for the likes of Evan Fournier and/ or Cam Reddish.
Now, while there is certainly some validity behind these critiques, especially considering the team had just seven players from their regular rotation standing healthy during crunch time of the contest, this loss cannot be solely blamed on the head man’s lineup decisions.
Though the loudest of fans were found calling for Thibodeau’s head, some were still found lifting a sound chunk of the blame off his shoulders.
Did Tom Thibodeau’s minute distribution play a role in Tuesday night’s downfall? One could make that case.
However, by no means should he be the poster boy for New York’s historic failure against Dallas for, as the literal numbers will show you, a unit consisting of Mitchell Robinson (7-footer averaging 8.8 rebounds) and Julius Randle (6-foot-8 averaging 9.6 rebounds) were out hustled on the boards 13-6 from the four-minute mark in the fourth through overtime and were outscored 20-9 from within 20 seconds in the fourth onward.
One smart box-out on Doncic and a simple rebound literally in the final second of regulation (Grimes and McBride accidentally collided into one another when fighting for the board) would have sealed the deal for the Knicks on the night, and, to Thibodeau’s credit, he put out the proper frontcourt alignment of Robinson and Randle to put them in the best position to do so.
Knicks Likely Won’t Make Coaching Shakeup Mid-Season
For those who have been pleading for the Knicks to move on from Tom Thibodeau, and who have had this stance heat up following the team’s most recent loss, it may be pertinent to know that such a decision might not come in as timely of a manner as one may wish.
In a sit-down with Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney from earlier this month, an anonymous Eastern Conference executive stated that should the front office opt to move on from the two-time Coach of the Year, the actual parting of ways likely wouldn’t happen until the offseason.
“Leon and Thibs are close—they might not agree on everything but they’re close. If it is obvious Thibs is not the guy for the job after this year, you’ll probably see both sides willing to move on,” the exec told Deveney.
Outside of the aforementioned reasoning behind why such a move likely wouldn’t take place until this coming summer, the executive also mentioned that there’s no clear replacement currently in place that could just jump in and do a better job than Thibodeau currently is doing.
“It doesn’t look like they have a clear next-guy-up if they fire Thibs. Johnnie Bryant would probably take over but that is a big job for him to step into. But they won’t fire Thibs during the season, that would be a tough thing to do. It is a .500 team the way it is built, and that is about where they are.” the executive told Deveney.
Through 35 games, the Knicks find themselves just north of a .500 record at 18-17 and sit in the sixth seed out in the Eastern Conference standings.
Knicks Guard Opens Up on Efforts Against Dallas
Tasked with guarding Luka Doncic for a majority of New York’s recent bout against the Mavericks was sophomore guard Quentin Grimes and while the superstar managed to put forth a historic performance against the youngster, the 22-year-old made sure to make it clear that he gave it his all throughout the contest during the team’s post-game media session.
“I promise I was trying for sure,” he said, as transcribed by Bleacher Report. “I mean, I’m trying to get over every pick-and-roll. He’s in almost every action. It was a lot on me trying to get over every pick-and-roll with him. He’s crafty with the ball, without the ball. Have to know where he is at all times on the court. He’s one of the top three players in the league for a reason. I have to tip my hat.”
Despite being overshadowed by his opponent’s production, Grimes, too, had himself a career night for the Knicks, as he finished with a tremendous stat-line of 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 48% shooting from the floor and 43.8% shooting from distance.
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