Knicks Depth Wins in Tom Thibodeau Firing

The New York Knicks are entering a transition after firing head coach Tom Thibodeau five years into his tenure with the organization.

Thibodeau came off a Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he appeared to be out-coached by Rick Carlisle, another veteran coach that has showcased more of a willingness to play a deeper rotation.

The Knicks are evaluating what went wrong to get them eliminated, and by firing Thibodeau, it's a sign that the front office values its depth on the roster.

"In true Tom Thibodeau-ian fashion, New York boasted five of this season's top 20 players in minutes per game," Bleacher Report contributor Andy Bailey wrote.

"Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were first, third, fifth, 14th and 20th, respectively."

"So, it's probably not a shock to learn that the Knicks were 30th in bench points per game at 21.7. What may be a little surprising, though, is the fact that that number is 4.5 shy of 29th place."

"New York wasn't just the worst in this category. It wasn't even close."

"And while Thibodeau seemed to eventually trust some reserves a bit more toward the end of the conference finals, the Knicks were still 15th (out of 16 playoff teams) in postseason bench points per game. And their average in that category dropped from the regular season."

"There's just no question that New York needs more firepower off the bench, and not just so it can climb those digital leaderboards."

"There is too big a workload on the legs of each of New York's starters. And that really started to show up toward the end of the series against Indiana, a fast-paced, run-and-gun team that eventually exhausted the Knicks."

The next move the team makes will be a tell-tale sign in how the Knicks feel about their depth. Do they want to move forward with players like Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet and Landry Shamet? Or will they swap them out for players with more experience playing in the playoffs?

It should be an interesting offseason in the Big Apple.