Knicks Coach Prevails After Slew of Strange Decisions

Few NBA head coaches have ever built up as recognizable of a coaching persona as New York's Tom Thibodeau.

Even to the casual fan, the Knicks' head coach is known for his gruff, unsmiling courtside demeanor, his reluctance to extend beyond his starters and delve into his bench, and his passion for defense. He's won Coach of the Year at several different stops, taking home top coaching honors in his debut season with the Knicks in 2020-21, yet it wasn't long ago that it seemed like he may be on the hot seat.

He's been known to burn through his reliable players with burdensome minute loads, a tendency of his that many believe to have sunk the Knicks' playoff run last season when injuries prevented the team from ever seeing the floor together.

Additionally, his in-game adjustments are constantly under a microscope with his job potentially on the line with a big market's contending dreams in the balance. Even after he and the Knicks sent the reigning champion Boston Celtics home just a week ago, few were pleased with how he started the Eastern Conference Finals.

First, his Knicks blew a Game 1 lead, succumbing to yet another all-time heave from Tyrese Haliburton before coming up short in overtime. Then, in Game 2, he held Jalen Brunson on the bench too long in allowing backup point guard Cameron Payne to lead the Knicks into the ground while the Pacers ran away with a score they'd never relent.

The Knicks stood at the wrong end of a 2-0 deficit mere weeks after handing the Celtics a similar disadvantage, and the odds weren't in New York's favor of coming back and advancing. Thibodeau, though, helped the Knicks bounce back with a slew of interesting decisions.

It initially looked like he'd cost them the series when the Pacers got loose in the second quarter, running off a 14-0 run near the half's close in forcing turnovers out of the Knicks and connecting on half-court lobs. The yellow arena was deafening, and TNT's Stan Van Gundy implored Thibodeau to use a timeout after several obvious missed chances to halt the momentum.

The Knicks were down 20 point again, the fourth time they've been in that position since the start of the playoffs. Two of those deficits they survived, but few required as many out-of-character coaching decisions as last night.

Thibodeau picked a convenient time to finally expand his rotation, inserting a few journeymen guards in Landry Shamet and Delon Wright to replace some of the minutes that would usually be occupied by Brunson. The Second Team All-NBA Guard missed much of the second half with foul trouble, and the Knicks experienced their most fruitful success with the rarely-seen Karl-Anthony Towns-led bench unit.