The New York Knicks haven’t even played in a preseason game yet, but Tom Thibodeau has already infuriated the fan base. As the coach enters his third consecutive season in New York, he’s picked up right where he left off in 2021-22.
After watching Julius Randle disappoint last season, fans were desperate to see more of Obi Toppin, and at the end of the year, that finally happened. With Randle out, Toppin went on a tear in the final five games of the season, which included a career-high 42 points (16-of-28) in the regular season finale against the Toronto Raptors.
Toppin’s performance gave fans another reason as to why they wanted to see Randle traded during the offseason, but with the start of the season a few weeks away, the 27-year-old forward is still on the roster. Rumors floated around during the offseason, but they were just that, rumors. Based on how Randle acted at Media Day, he seems to be in a much better place than he was last year, but there’s still the Obi dilemma.
Will the No. 8 pick in the 2020 draft see more playing time in 2022-23? Or will he continue to be overshadowed by Randle? If what Thibodeau said is an indication of what’s to come, it’s not looking good for Obi.
Tom Thibodeau didn't sound too eager to use a Julius Randle-Obi Toppin lineup. He said they've looked at it in practice and in small doses last season:
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) September 28, 2022
"I think the numbers show it wasn't very effective."
Tom Thibodeau refuses to believe that Julius Randle and Obi Toppin could coexist
One way for Toppin to receive the minutes that he deserves would be to play him at the five and leave Randle at the four. However, as you can see, Thibodeau isn’t fond of that, but him claiming that they numbers weren’t “very effective” is wrong.
These are the times I just wish Thibs would be honest.
— Jonathan Macri (@JCMacriNBA) September 28, 2022
“It might have some offensive benefits, but I’m afraid of what it would mean for our rim defense, which is our backbone. Frankly, that worries me more than it excites me”
He’d still get pushback, but at least it’s genuine. https://t.co/nkFE7Ma7K6
The two-man lineup of Julius Randle and Obi Toppin posted a POSITIVE Net Rating of +3.7 last season.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) September 28, 2022
The two-man lineup of Randle and Mitch Robinson posted a NEGATIVE Net Rating of -3.6 last season. https://t.co/swqgdiNCaY
First off, you can’t draw conclusions based on that sample size. Randle and Toppin haven’t shared the floor near enough for Thibodeau to have already cast that idea out the door. However, it is Thibodeau, and his stubbornness frequently gets in his own way. He’s not going to experiment with lineups, unless, of course, it involves putting a non-point guard as the point guard (Alec Burks).
It doesn’t help that the Knicks went out and bolstered their depth at the five during the offseason by signing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and converting Jericho Sims’ two-way contract. Sims is going to have a hard enough time getting minutes.
With the Knicks not trading for Donovan Mitchell and proceeding into the season with their young core, Thibs must embrace the youth on the roster. And frankly, it’s not fair to Toppin, who’s entering his third season, to continue to be limited. If Thibodeau is going to fail to use Obi properly along with New York’s other young players, he shouldn’t have a job for the entirety of the 2022-23 season.
Toppin isn’t a failed lottery pick that Thibs is stashing on the bench until a trade comes around (like Kevin Knox), but instead, he’s a player that hasn’t been given the full green light to prove his worth. He’s shown flashes of promise and it would be a disservice to both Obi and the Knicks if he spends the majority of the year watching from the sideline.
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