Knicks Get Sigh of Relief With Tom Thibodeau, Celtics

Thibodeau took in one of the final practices before Boston's opener and some found the timing interesting: the Celtics open up against Philadelphia but game two will be a nationally-streamed showdown against the Knicks, who shut down Boston's attempt to repeat as NBA champions last spring under Thibodeau's watch. Celtics star Jaylen Brown perhaps unintentionally raised more eyebrows when he said that Thibodeau "explain[ed] some of things that he saw that helped [the Knicks] beat us" in the six-game postseason set from last spring (h/t Megan Ottolini of WEEI).

"It just so happened that he happened to be the coach that knocked us out of the playoffs the year before. There wasn’t much there from that standpoint," Mazzulla, who was reportedly targeted by Knicks management to succeed Thibodeau, continued. "It was more just who he is as a person, the experiences he's had as a player, also in gratitude for a coach that has coached here, has won a championship here and coached great players around the league. He just has wisdom beyond one series or one season."

Prior to taking the Knicks job, Thibodeau was Boston's associate head coach under Doc Rivers during their famed run to the 2008 championship. The four wins over the Celtics in the conference semifinal proved to be some of his last at the helm of the Knicks, as getting the team to the conference finals for the first time since 2000 wasn't enough to secure another season on MSG's sidelines.

Knicks Don't Have to Worry

Even with that in mind, it appears that the Knicks don't have to worry about a SpyGate sequel happening, if Mazzulla is to be believed. In any event, even if Thibodeau did go over metropolitan film with the Celtics, the Knicks could well take solace in the idea that it won't look the same considering they went after the fundamentally different Mike Brown to serve as a successor.

While proper respect has been afforded to Thibodeau, Brown has hinted at playing a different style, particularly in the pace department: despite all that Thibodeau accomplished, New York routinely ranked at or bottom of the Association's pace columns, a trend that Brown has sought to change upon his arrival.

Current Knicks reps and Thibodeau's former proteges certainly don't seem phased by the developments: Knicks center Mitchell Robinson expressed amusement over Thibodeau's supposed defection on his Instagram Story and the happening was a non-issue amidst the Knicks' prep for their own season-opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mikal Bridges, for example, was among the unmoved, calling Thibodeau's Beantown mentoring "no issue at all" in video from SNY.