The Knicks appear to be heading nowhere fast in terms of a playoff berth, leaving many wondering why head coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t fully committed to a collective youth movement.
But Thibodeau doesn’t believe that sentiment is an accurate one, claiming that he plays his youngsters more than anyone else in the NBA, starting with the heavy minutes logged by emerging star RJ Barrett.
“People forget he’s 21 years old,” Thibodeau said when asked if Barrett is expected to play full games the rest of the way. “A big part of him learning is playing. Same thing with Mitch, same thing with Quentin [Grimes], same thing with Obi [Toppin], same thing with [Immanuel Quickley].
“Deuce [McBride] is playing, Jericho [Sims] is playing, I don’t know if anyone is playing as many young guys as we are.”
Sims has started to see a lot more time at center since the end of February, including a career-high 23 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Nets. But Thibodeau still went to veteran Taj Gibson for long stretches, and Gibson struggled against Andre Drummond, while Sims, a +20 on the day, continued to make his case for more action.
The rookie McBride has also shown efficiency on the defensive end, leaving fans wondering why he isn’t on the floor more given the team’s current point guard situation, which has Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose sidelined and Alec Burks playing out of position.
“You have to keep going day by day,” Thibodeau said of McBride. “You have to earn your minutes, that’s the way it works here. So we’ll see.”
Thibodeau’s rotation decisions and the Knicks’ performance as a whole has caused a large portion of the New York fanbase to call for a coaching change, but Thibodeau says that is never on his mind as he prepares for the stretch run of his second season as head coach.
“I don’t worry about any of that stuff, just coach the team,” Thibodeau said. “Never worried about that. I know what I put into the job.”
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