Daily Knicks
Fansided

NY Knicks: 3 negative takeaways from the 2021-22 season

By James Ryder

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks looks on during a break in the action during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2022 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks looks on during a break in the action during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on March 18, 2022 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau
Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images) /

Tom Thibodeau’s bad habits are still alive and well

I wanted Mike Miller to be the next head coach two years ago. I was impressed by his attitude, his resume with the Westchester Knicks as a player developer and winner, and the fact of course that he was substantially more successful in a short amount of time than his predecessor.

But instead, New York hired Tom Thibodeau, who I’ll acknowledge fits what qualifies as a “good” NBA coach. I admire his passion, his knack for defense, his success at the professional level, and he does have a reputation of being a “player’s coach and developer.”

Unfortunately, he has a lot of bad habits that reared their ugly heads this season. At times, I question whether or not the ways in which I just described Thibodeau were accurate and I know that I’m not the only one.

It is for these reasons that I was hesitant to consider and accept Thibodeau’s hiring. So, what reasons am I referring to specifically?

Only the two biggest reasons why Thibodeau had a negative impact on the team, of course; his offensive ineptitude and reliance on veterans.

Basically, both of those attributes fit under the umbrella of his most defining characteristic: stubbornness. How did each of these hurt the Knicks?

The former reason was a huge problem this year but was admittedly not all of the coach’s fault. Randle’s huge decline and the poor shooting of most of the roster was a big catalyst.

However, Thibodeau has always been offensively impaired. He is challenged by just about any play-calling, and maybe worst of all, doesn’t seem to have ever had an assistant who he can or who he chooses to lean on for help on that end.

Then there is the latter habit, his choice of personnel. We all know Thibodeau has his favorites and they’re overwhelmingly vets. He never held guys like Randle or Alec Burks accountable for poor play and constantly played them big minutes over the more successful players.

Those successful players of course just so happened to be the young guys, and thus the cries of “play the kids” on Knicks Twitter was born.

Thibodeau’s biggest flaws of refusing to change his rotations and his lack of know-how on offense severely lessened New York’s chances of winning game to game.

Home/Knicks News