Pelicans' Stan Van Gundy: 'Extra training camp' benefited Tom Thibodeau, Knicks

New Orleans Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said that Tom Thibodeau got a head start coaching the Knicks when the team was not forced to go to the bubble in Orlando last summer.

"Tom got that little extra training camp in the summer with the bubble to start putting things together so he got a little more time," Van Gundy said. "So they stayed doing the same thing all year. That actual helps, guys, when players in play the same system all year."

The Knicks were one of eight teams not invited to the bubble last summer, and they hired Thibs as their new coach in July, giving him several months to work with players and establish his presence with the team.

This may sound like Van Gundy is complaining or taking a thinly veiled shot at Thibs after the Knicks defeated the Pelicans on Wednesday night, but Van Gundy said that Thibodeau is a "great coach" and complimented the Knicks for "playing as good as any team in the East."

As a fellow veteran coach working a new team this season, Van Gundy was likely trying to avoid comparisons between the Knicks and the Pelicans with New Orleans currently out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.