Why NY Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau should win Coach of The Year

Thibodeau has helped the young NY Knicks’ development

The second reason why Coach Thibodeau deserves the Coach of The Year award is because of his players’ growth. Thibodeau and his assistant coaches have done an excellent job of working with the young players on the team and helping them to improve multiple facets of their game.

Every young player on the roster has improved and that can be attributed in large part to great coaching. Julius Randle has evolved from a talented player who put up empty numbers to a legitimate All-Star. His first year he really struggled to be the first option but he’s learned from those mistakes and has become a great passer and team leader. He’s also improved a lot as a scorer, shooter, and defender.

RJ Barrett has improved by leaps and bounds since his rookie year. His 3-point shooting has gotten extremely better. Last season, Barrett shot a poor 32% from 3. This year it’s up to 35% but his 3 point shooting has gotten much better than that statistic would suggest. Barrett started off the season shooting just 18% from 3, according to Tommy Beer, Barrett has shot 48% from 3 in the last 6 weeks. In just one offseason RJ has become an automatic outside shooter.

His shooting from the free-throw line has also improved and he’s also turned into a strong rebounder and defender. In his second year, Barrett has made a nice leap. Barrett has a strong work ethic, but the coaches have done a great job of helping Barrett to turn into a good all-around player in just his second season.

Mitchell Robinson has also grown under Thibodeau. Robinson has been an unsung hero this season. Many fans don’t realize how much he impacts winning since he only averages 8 points 8 boards and 1.5 blocks per game. Robinson has been a great defensive anchor this year.

His rim protection is elite and this year under Thibodeau he’s fouling way less which helps him to play starter minutes. He’s also been good on the defensive glass and a great finisher around the basket.

Thibodeau has helped to turn Mitch into a great defensive big man. Even Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox, two underwhelming top-10 picks, have gotten better under Thibodeau. Knox is no longer the defensive liability he used to be and he’s become a knockdown 3-point shooter.

Frank Ntilikina, in the 9 games he played this year, looks like a good 3-and-D player. They both have turned into decent players. They haven’t gotten too many minutes largely due to the depth on the roster. But overall, Thibodeau has done a great job at player development which is why he should win coach of the year.