Knicks: Is it too early to criticize Tom Thibodeau?

Overall, Knicks fans have approved of the job Tom Thibodeau has done. The team looks well prepared, is playing stellar defense, and their highest-paid player Julius Randle is having a career season. But how much of his approval rating has to do with actual results versus low expectations?

It is easy to look good when you’re inheriting a mess. Last season the team went 21-45 and the previous coach David Fizdale was 4-18 before being let go. While I think Thibodeau is a good coach, I have to be honest, I am not happy with how he is handling the young players. That is why I am asking, in the long run, is Thibodeau really the best coach for the Knicks?

Let’s take a look at some of the Knicks’ recent coaches and see how they fared and how we can compare them to Thibodeau.

Knicks’ Previous Coaches: David Fizdale

A lot has been made about the improvement in the win column, which is important, but it shouldn’t be the only measure of success. Getting a team to be average in the NBA isn’t that hard.

David Fizdale had success in his first stint as a head coach before the Knicks. Fizdale led the Grizzlies to the playoffs in his 1st season, and became famous for saying “take that for data”. But in his 2nd season, everything fell apart when Mike Conley Jr. got hurt.

In New York, Fizdale got a raw deal. He had to work with Steve Mills, who was the main source of a lot of Knicks’ failures this century. He was also expecting to coach Kristaps Porzingis, then when he left town he thought he was going to coach Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Knicks’ Previous Coaches: Jeff Hornacek

As for Jeff Hornacek, he was runner-up for coach of the year in his 1st season in Phoenix in 2013-14 when he won 48 games. The team’s demise was not his fault, it was due to bad management, as Robert Sarver is one of the worst owners in the NBA.

Phil Jackson was applauded when he hired Hornacek in New York. After dealing with the dysfunction of Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony in his 1st season with the Knicks, he thought he could prove himself in his 2nd. But after a going 22-26, his 2nd season, Kristaps Porzingis tore his ACL on February 6th, 2018 against the Bucks. Thus ending any chance he had to succeed in New York.

Knicks’ Previous Coaches: Mike Miller

Even interim coach Mike Miller, who had never been a head coach in the NBA produced similar results to Thibodeau with the same starting 5. Don’t believe me?  Just see below.

I liked how Mike Miller handled the team. He implemented a lot of the same strategies as Thibodeau. He held the team more accountable on defense, ran a more structured offense, and he also created defined roles for the young players.

While Thibodeau deserves credit for the improvement in Randle’s play, most of his struggles last season were at the beginning of the season. His play improved after Miller took over and he had developed chemistry with his new teammates.

Miller was the G-League coach of the year in 2017-18 for a reason, he is great at development. Yet, he won’t play the young players much. Why? You might ask. The reason is obvious, he was coaching for his job.

Sure sounds like Thibodeau, coaching each game like it’s his last. The difference is it literally was for Miller, it was his only shot at being a head coach in the NBA. But that isn’t Thibodeau’s situation, he is in the first year of a 5 year contract. The only pressure he should be feeling is to develop a team that is built for sustained winning.

The one criticism I have of Thibodeau is that he doesn’t see the forest past the trees. He hasn’t learned from his mistakes. He still doesn’t have patience for young players, and even in the era of “load management” he is still playing his stars 40+ minutes a game. Critics have said that he drives players into the ground in order to pad his win totals.

Now compare how the old-school Thibodeau handles his stars to the way the poster boy for modern NBA coaches, Steve Kerr handles his: He explicitly said he is not going to stretch Steph Curry’s minutes to ‘chase wins’.

What has saved Thibodeau from more criticism is the play of Immanuel Quickley. The rookie has burst on the scene and helped fill a gaping hole on the team. But his stellar play hasn’t guaranteed him minutes.

Even when Quickley plays well, he gets pulled for Elfrid Payton. Thibodeau is willing to give vets more rope than young players when it comes to poor play. But it should actually be the opposite. Elfrid Payton is still a low IQ player that can’t shoot despite this being his 7th season. Reggie Bullock for the most part has been a disappointment on offense while his defense has been good, but not great. Even Derrick Rose who is a great addition and an upgrade over Payton can’t play more than 24 minutes a night at this stage in his career.

I rather the Knicks give Obi Toppin, Frank Ntilikina, and Kevin Knox +20 minutes a night and live with the results. I truly believe the additional 3-4 wins Thibodeau thinks he will get by playing Randle and Barrett 40 minutes a night along with Bullock and Payton in the rotation are not worth it.

The Knicks are better served knowing for sure what they have in their young players who have more upside instead of relying on veteran players.