Getty New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau looks on against the Golden State Warriors.
Just 13 games into the 2022-23 season, it appears the New York Knicks are already teetering towards panic mode, as they boast a sub-.500 record of 6-7 and have dropped three of their last five contests in rather grueling fashions.
Most recently, the ball club was decimated in front of a packed Garden crowd during a November 13 matinee against the Thunder, as they were completely incapable of stopping Oklahoma City from scoring and, in turn, wound up giving up an egregious 145 points.
During a post-game discussion with SNY sports anchor Dexter Henry, NBA Insider Ian Begley opened up about his thoughts on the Knicks’ recent struggles, particularly when it comes to their efforts on the less glamorous side of the ball.
His analysis of the team was without a doubt unappealing, albeit very true.
“There’s no excuse really for the way this team played on Sunday,” Begley said. “You talk about a Thunder team that was second to last in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage and they lit the Knicks up from beyond the arc, and this is a reoccurring theme for New York.”
Begley would go on to note that each of their most recent losses against Boston, Brooklyn, and Oklahoma City saw their opponent shoot lights out from deep, with each putting up 3-point percentages of 52.9%, 41.2%, and 54.8%, respectively.
He would continue by stating that their struggles on defense seem to be a result of a “lack of cohesion” on the perimeter and stressed that they need to figure things out quickly “if they want to get this season turned around.”
Knicks Coach on Hot Seat
Considered a defensive-minded coach, Tom Thibodeau’s 2022-23 iteration of the Knicks finds itself placing 24th in the league in defensive rating and are giving up the 25th most points to opposing teams with an average of 116.8 per game.
With their putrid start to the season, many have been calling for the dismissal of the two-time NBA Coach of the Year winner, and Begley told Henry that he believes that his status with New York could easily be put into jeopardy should these struggles continue.
“I think [his job security] depends on how the Knicks lose games,” Begley said. “If they lose these games on the west coast trip, are they competitive or is it more so like the losses we saw against Brooklyn, against Atlanta, against Boston, and Sunday against Oklahoma City…I think if you see more of those losses, Tom Thibodeau’s seat will heat up and will get hot.”
With his 11 years of head coaching experience, Thibodeau has found himself leading the charge for two other organizations in the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, each of which saw his tenure unceremoniously cut short.
To many, it seems that his stint with the New York Knicks is heading toward a similar end.
Miami Could Be Interested in Knicks Trade
During a recent sit down with Heavy Sports’ NBA Insider Sean Deveney, an anonymous NBA executive stated that the Miami Heat could have serious interest in pursuing a trade for Julius Randle should he be shopped.
“Miami is probably the big team that will be looking for a power forward and (Randle) would at least be interesting there with Bam (Adebayo) and Jimmy Butler,” the exec told Deveney.
“They’d have to make up for him on the defensive end, but they are good at scheming that way and they’ve been really bad on the offensive end.”
Though he’s been a bit underwhelming over the past few seasons with the New York Knicks, the title-hopeful Heat may be more willing to take a high-risk, high-reward swing at the multi-talented Randle.
Since signing his four-year, $117 million contract extension with the franchise back in the summer of 2021, the 27-year-old has put up impressive averages of 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, and, last season, he was one of only three players to finish the year boasting averages of 20+ points, 9+ rebounds, and 4+ assists per contest, with the other two being Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.