The Knicks are officially freefalling, having blown their third 20-point lead in 11 days by coughing up a 28-point advantage on Wednesday night to a Nets team that was without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, and Ben Simmons.
With the stunning loss, New York heads into the All-Star break having lost three in a row and 12 of its last 15 games, bringing along questions of what kind of changes need to be made for a team that came into the season with expectations of getting back to the playoffs.
Could one of those changes include moving on from head coach Tom Thibodeau? According to SNY’s Ian Begley, Thibodeau’s job may not be safe.
Begley reported after Wednesday’s loss that “confidence in Thibodeau had diminished among some people of influence” at MSG, even before Wednesday’s stunning yet all-too familiar collapse. Thibodeau has been widely criticized and questioned for some of his rotation decisions, a problem he had in Minnesota when he was the Timberwolves head coach, because of his hesitation to play younger players more minutes, even when his veterans have been inefficient.
It was reported before the trade deadline that the Knicks wanted to deal some of their veterans to clear room for their youngsters to see more action, but no deals were made. The Knicks did acquire Cam Reddish before the deadline, a move that Thibodeau reportedly didn’t support, and it has shown with Reddish’s sparing playing time.
Thibodeau won Coach of the Year last year after leading the Knicks to their best season since 2013, but Begley reports that his chemistry with the staff and players is not as strong as it was during last year’s surprising run to the postseason. That is reflected with Thibodeau’s decision to remove veteran point guard Kemba Walker from the rotation earlier this season, which, according to Begley, was “privately questioned” by some players when the decision was made.
Thibodeau could be falling out of favor with the Knicks, but the team’s offseason acquisitions haven’t panned out, and an injury to Derrick Rose, arguably the team’s most valuable contributor, hasn’t helped his cause. But a stretch like the one New York is currently on warrants at least a question of the head coach’s job security.
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