Getty New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeaux reacts during a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The New York Knicks‘ 2022-23 season continues to be one of incredible highs and head-scratching lows. After thrilling wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and the East-leading Boston Celtics, the team came barreling back toward the terra on Saturday night.
Facing a Brooklyn Nets squad that was without the services of both Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons, Tom Thibodeau’s club was overwhelmed on the perimeter. Led by Kyrie Irving, the Nets rained 22 triples on a porous Knicks D. As a result, New York lost its ninth-straight game to its crosstown rival.
With the loss, the Knicks are currently closer to the bottom of the play-in range than a top-four or five spot in the playoff bracket. It’s a reality that probably doesn’t sit well with Knicks owner James Dolan who just told WFAN that a playoff berth is the “benchmark” this season.
For his part, though, Thibodeau is maintaining that he’s not feeling any additional pressure to get his squad to the postseason.
Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau Sounds Off on Playoff Mandate
Dolan’s playoff goals aren’t unreasonable given the Jalen Brunson boost, Julius Randle’s resurgence as an All-Star-caliber big and the talent that’s present throughout the Knicks’ roster. But Thibodeau continues to assert that Big Jim isn’t looming over him or affecting his process.
“I never feel pressure because I know what I put into each day,” Thibodeau said before the loss to the Nets, via the New York Post. “I think anybody who puts everything they have into each day, you never feel pressure.
“I never worry about that stuff. Hey look, for me, I look at Jim as — is he giving us everything we need to be successful? Yes. So, go out there and give him everything we have. Hopefully, we have the team that does that, so we want him to have belief in the team. I think that’s good.”
His history with Knicks president Leon Rose notwithstanding, there have been rumblings since before the season began that Thibodeau could be on the hot seat in NYC. And given the team’s drop-off from top-four playoff seeding in 2021 to the lottery in 2022, it’s definitely not a crazy concept.
If the team registers another disappointing result this season, it’s far from unfathomable that changes could be made.
Knicks Urged to Dump Evan Fournier
Bleacher Report‘s Zach Buckley just put out his list of the players on each of the NBA‘s 30 teams that should be dumped ahead of the trade deadline. And, surprise surprise, he namechecked Evan Fournier as the odd man out for the Knicks:
Last season, Evan Fournier ostensibly did his job as a spacing specialist. He averaged a personal-best 3.0 triples per outing and splashed his long-range looks at a 38.9 percent clip.
Even then, though, his limitations in other areas torpedoed his impact, as he wound up with a minus-3.8 net differential that slotted him in the 30th percentile leaguewide.
Guess what’s happened to Fournier this time around with even his jumper failing him to the sad tune of a 34.8/31.0/82.4 slash line? Nothing good. That net differential is now minus-4.6, which slides him back to the 28th percentile. He and his $18 million salary should be on the next flight out of New York.