Why Tom Thibodeau is Perfect for Knicks

New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has a team catered for his coaching style.

May 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau against the Philadelphia 76ers in game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has seen a fair mix of success and futility throughout his career.

In four years with the Knicks, however, Thibodeau has mostly experienced success, and a big part of that has to do with the players the front office has found to place around him.

"Tom Thibodeau is not a versatile coach," CBS Sports contributor Sam Quinn writes. "His teams play the way they play. He asks more out of his starters than any other coach in basketball. His defenses protect the basket at all costs. His teams own the glass on both ends. And when he has the personnel for that? He's awesome. He just has to get dinged for his specificity. He has a roster full of players in New York that would run through a brick wall for him and then pick themselves up and eat the rubble just for the fun of it."

Thibodeau was criticized during the latter part of last season for playing some of his players too many minutes, which led to a number of injuries flaring up against the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.

A specific example of this came with Josh Hart, who often played a full 48 minutes for Thibodeau. Hart dealt with an abdomen injury, and it affected his play in the final two games of the Knicks' season. Had New York won either of those games, the Knicks would have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead, they took a premature exit in the second round.

Thibodeau has a deeper Knicks roster this season that is more equipped to compete for a championship than ever before, so there's potential for him to slightly adjust his coaching style and tendencies in order to win the first ring of his career.

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