Why Tom Thibodeau Should Be On The Hot Seat

The New York Knicks turned in one of their worst performances of the season on Monday, allowing the Pistons to even up the series at Madison Square Garden. There were so many aspects of the game to be concerned about, from their poor offensive process, defensive miscommunications, and questionable lineup decisions. All of it is laid at the feet of head coach Tom Thibodeau, whether fairly or unfairly.

The noise surrounding NY’s headman from the media and Knicks fanbase alike has been growing all season and is now at an all-time high. While New York is still the heavy favorite in this series and should win comfortably, Detroit has made a statement. Considering the lofty expectations NY entered the year with, Thibodeau must make the necessary adjustments to escape the first round. If he fails to, things could get real tight for the veteran coach.

Why Tom Thibodeau Should be on the Hot Seat

Firstly, it feels necessary to establish that Tom Thibodeau has been a wild success in New York. Five years ago, the Knicks hired him after concluding their seventh straight season outside the playoffs. They were arguably the worst franchise in the league, constantly disappointing a basketball-crazed city. There were other important moves made to kickstart the organization’s ascent, such as signing Julius Randle or hiring Leon Rose as team president.

However, few people have had as much of a positive effect on the franchise’s turnaround than Thibodeau. He’s instilled a culture of toughness and commitment to winning in his tenure in NY. In his five campaigns, the Knicks have had a winning record in four of them, leading to four playoff appearances. He won their first playoff series in a decade in 2023 and grabbed another series victory a year later. Thibodeau has completely changed the trajectory of the team going forward. Knicks fans should be eternally grateful for his presence. Unfortunately, his glaring weaknesses may also cost him his job.

Failure to Adjust to Modern Basketball is Costing NY

There are two main reasons that Thibodeau could be in trouble if the Knicks lose this series. He should be on the hot seat even if they beat Detroit, but lay an egg against Boston in the second round. The first factor is Thibs’ refusal to deviate from his coaching principles to play modern NBA basketball.

This concept comes primarily through two coaching decisions. His inability to adjust NY’s offense to a ball-movement, five-out style that maximizes their incredible talent in favor of Jalen Brunson’s iso-ball was the biggest reason for the Game 2 loss. It’s been a problem for months now, as Brunson seems to dominate the ball far too often. We saw how successful OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges were when the captain left the lineup. New York has four extremely capable offensive creators, but it still fails to spread the ball around. It’s far too predictable, and Detroit showed the formula to shut them down.

The other way Thibodeau’s stubbornness manifests is in his lineup decisions. Josh Hart is an elite role player who brings a lot to the table. He’s beloved in New York for his toughness, hustle, and playmaking. However, when he’s in a shooting slump and refuses to take and make threes, he becomes borderline unplayable. Detroit is paying no attention to Hart on the perimeter, allowing them to double Brunson with impunity. The Pistons are guarding the Knicks five-on-four, and Thibs has yet to lower Hart’s minutes in favor of Mitchell Robinson or Miles McBride. Those two guys are playing fewer combined minutes (33.3) than Hart (34.8), despite bringing more to the table currently.

McBride is a much better shooter, vastly improving the Knicks’ spacing. He’s also a great screen navigator and on-ball defender, which NY has struggled mightily with in this series. McBride legitimately provides a fix to many of New York’s biggest issues in this matchup. Robinson makes the Knicks a scary defense and rebounding team while also providing hard screens and a lob threat. Both players would help Thibodeau’s group with increased minutes, but he refuses to go away from his guy.