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The Dallas Mavericks’ blatant tanking is the least of New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau’s worries.
“I don’t worry about that stuff,” Thibodeau said after the Knicks, playing without their top stars, wrapped up their regular season schedule April 9 with a 141-136 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
“To me, it’s to stay lock into what we were doing here. Every franchise has to do what they think is best for themselves. So whatever it is, I have a lot of confidence in Leon [Rose] and our front office. They’ll make the best of whatever’s in front of us,” Thibodeau added.
The Mavericks owe the Knicks a top-10 protected pick this season and keeping the 10th worst record gives them a great chance to keep the pick. Their decision on April 7 to sit star Kyrie Irving and play Luka Doncic only until the start of the second quarter of a 115-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls officially eliminated them from play-in contention.
It didn’t sit well with the league, and NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league was looking into it.
“The NBA commenced an investigation [Saturday] into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to [Friday] night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
Knicks Prepare for Cavs
The Knicks shift their focus toward the Cleveland Cavaliers shortly after finishing 47-35, their best regular-season record in a decade.
“[Monday], we’ll dig in and then lay out the plan, and then just get ready to go day by day. So this is the way we approach it,” Thibodeau said during the Knicks-Pacers postgame interview.
The next five days will be crucial for the Knicks before they fly to Cleveland for Games 1 and 2 of the first round series.
“At the conclusion of the season, you know exactly where you stand,” Thibodeau said. “And then you get ready for whatever’s next. So the next step for us are the playoffs. So I think we’ve made great strides. But this is a greater challenge. And it’s the next challenge that’s in front of us.”
“So we got to tackle it, we got to understand how important studying is preparation is and then go from there,” Thibodeau added.
The Knicks won their last three meetings against the Cavaliers this season.
Tom Thibodeau Provides Julius Randle Injury Update
Randle attended the Knicks’ season finale without a protective boot on his left foot, a welcome development as they head into the playoffs.
“Yeah, just the next step, following the protocol progression,” Thibodeau told reporters before their loss to the Pacers. “So making good, steady progress.”
“He’s shooting, but no contact or anything like that but he’s doing well overall,” he added.
Randle is scheduled to be re-evaluated on April 13, according to SNY’s Ian Begley.
Randle finished the regular season as the Knicks leader in points (25.1) and rebounds (10.0). The late-season injury also robbed him of the chance of equaling or surpassing Evan Fournier’s franchise single-season record of 241 3-pointers made. Randle ended up with the second-most 3-pointers made (218) but was first in 3-point attempts (636).
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Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau Issues Statement on Mavs Tanking