After Tuesday night's home loss to the Detroit Pistons, the New York Knicks will be heading to the Motor City for with the series tied 1-1. As the Knicks prepare for what will be a pivotal matchup, they should be thanking their lucky stars they're not down 2-0.
A 21-0 New York run was the difference in Game 1. The Knicks were one stretch of hot play away from being out of this series. They will still have the opportunity to re-take control of their destiny, but they would be remiss not to remember how they got here.
If you analyze New York's roster construction, it almost seems... like the offense should be a bit more complex than it is in reality? Which leads us to one of the most consistent gripes of Knicks fans that is growing as loud as ever: Tom Thibodeau's offensive schemes are simply a bit dated and bland in the year 2025.
Thibs will run set plays, especially the ones where he can get his best shooters an open look. But within that, there's not usually a lot of place for improvisation or movement to allow the talent of different guys to shine. We are seeing this element become a factor in this series with the Pistons.
There's no way around it — Thibs' offense is bland
Every coach's job is difficult, and I don't claim to know more than Thibodeau or anyone. But at the same time, the Knicks have a lot of pieces that it feels like get under-utilized.
New York has arguably the best stretch big in the league, one of the top scoring guards in the association and several versatile wings all on their roster. So why does Karl-Anthony Towns have just five three-point attempts in this entire series thus far? Why do so many possessions end with just Jalen Brunson iso-ing on someone?
There's also additional looks Thibodeau has under-utilized to this point like implementing two-big lineups with Mitchell Robinson and KAT more often. Overall, it just feels like Thibs' style of running offense is leaving money on the table for a team that could have bigger aspirations than they do with their current scheme.
I more so understand Thibodeau's desire to not show his cards in the regular season when he has a team that's going to finish as a high seed and be in the playoffs. But once you get to the postseason, there's really no excuse for not opening up your playbook more.
Ultimately, this factor may become the Knicks' undoing in these playoffs. New York has the talent to compete with the Bostons and the Clevelands of the East, but the likelihood they make it past either of those teams feels extremely low while running the offense the way it is now.