After a rough performance in front of an empty NBA house in COVID-wracked Toronto, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t in his finest mood. The team lost for the second time to close its four-game road trip, giving up 120 points to the Raptors and getting hammered on the boards, with the Raptors tallying 44 rebounds to just 30 for New York.
In his postgame press conference, Thibodeau had a jab at the legion of fans, especially on social media, who have been clamoring for more playing time for second-year forward Obi Toppin, especially in light of the struggles star big man Julius Randle has had. Randle has been out for the past two games, both losses, because he was placed in the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols.
Thibs was asked about the many complaints about Randle, and pointed out that Toppin has been somewhat exposed lately in taking over as a starter for Randle. The coach turned to a football analogy.
“The thing is, it’s the day and age of social media, and that’s what social media is,” Thibodeau said. “You try not to pay attention to it, because it’s really meaningless, whether it’s praise or criticism. It doesn’t really matter. Really, what matters is what we think. And so, we know how important it is. But it’s like the backup quarterback. Everyone thinks the backup should start until he has to start. And so, Julius is a terrific player, Derrick’s (Rose) terrific, Kemba’s (Walker) terrific. But guys are gonna miss games and when they do, there’s terrific players on our bench. Get in there and get the job done.”
Tom Thibodeau reflects on the Knicks’ struggles in the absence of Julius Randle:
“It’s like the backup quarterback, everyone thinks the backup should start until he has to start”
Toppin Has Struggled as a Starter
Toppin has not gotten the job done in the two games in which he has been the starter. He scored just five points with seven rebounds in 27 minutes in the Knicks’ embarrassing loss in Oklahoma City on Friday night, outplayed by little-used second-rounder Isaiah Roby (eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, with nine rebounds).
On Sunday, he was much better as a scorer, with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and six assists, but grabbed only six rebounds and was outdone by Pascal Siakam (20 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists). Toppin was a minus-9 for the game against Toronto, prompting Thibodeau to make the comparison to the backup quarterback who shows he is not really ready for a starting job.
“Everybody has to step forward,” Toppin said after the game. “When people go down, the next person has to step up. Like, we, everybody who is here is a great player, they got here for a reason.”
“Everybody that’s here is a great player, they got here for a reason”
Obi Toppin talks about how Knicks players need to step up when others go down:
Rookie McBride Also Had a Rough Game
While Toppin was the subject of Thibodeau’s comparison, it applied, too, to rookie guard Deuce McBride, the defensive ace whose flashes of hot shooting have disappeared. McBride entered the game having scored seven points in 49 minutes in his previous two games, shooting 3-for-13 from the field.
He was brutal on Sunday, and Thibodeau pulled him less than five minutes into the game. McBride finished with two points on 1-for-6 shooting in 15 minutes.
“Just the way the game was going,” Thibodeau said about McBride getting benched. “I felt we probably needed a little more offense to try to get things going. So we went back and forth with that before the game. We were hoping to find some rhythm with one group. We never really got there.”
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Frustrated Thibodeau Delivers Veiled Jab at Knicks Fans & Obi Toppin