When Tom Thibodeau was the head coach of the New York Knicks, his players got tired very quickly, and their fourth-quarter performance suffered. With Mike Brown at the helm, they should be able to avoid that same fate.
“To the depth issue and the no longer Thibs of this team, this team was 24th in fourth quarter net rating last season,” Andrew Claudio said on the Game Theory podcast. “They had Josh Hart, and Anunoby, and Bridges—three of the top six in minutes played last season—so, guys were just running out of gas come fourth quarter. I think we can just make that conclusion at this point. And then, Josh Hart made some comments during Media Day that he believes he’s a starter in this league, and he should start, but he understands if the team goes a different way. I think last year actually proved that he’s not a starter. The more you play him, the more you expose some of his weaknesses.”
This year should look very different for New York.
How will Tom Thibodeau issue be solved?
For as long as he coached in the NBA, and if and when he gets another job, Thibodeau’s principles remain. He plays his top guys heavy minutes, and for the most part, gets results.
But the downside to that decision is exactly what Claudio laid out above. Players get tired, worn out, and their play devolves by the fourth quarter. And a lot of them aren’t thrilled with his style, either.
At points last year, guys made comments about Thibodeau’s minutes decisions. It’s certainly an exhausting way of doing things, and Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges led the NBA in playing time, with OG Anunoby not far behind them.
Brown should provide a fresh perspective in that regard, relying more on his depth and keeping his players exuberant later into games. Perhaps that’s what this Knicks team needs.
New York doesn’t have the best depth in the world, especially at the forward position, but it’s certainly good enough to award Hart, Bridges, and Anunoby some extra rest throughout the course of games.
And the issue Claudio outlined should be something Brown is gunning to fix from the very beginning of the season onward. Being a bad fourth-quarter team doesn’t usually translate to winning.
By utilizing more depth and ensuring the best players get ample rest, the Knicks should look a lot different this year under Brown than they looked under Thibodeau.