Post-season woes are the Knicks’ Achilles heel, and Tom Thibodeau’s job is to execute a turnaround.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau knows what’s going on. He hears criticism of his coaching, including his postseason record. He gets defensive when someone mentions that he overworks his players, but he also knows the postseason represents a referendum on him.
Is Thibs coaching for his job? I don’t think so because he has a great relationship with Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose and Knicks owner James Dolan, and that matters more than the results in this franchise. But Thibodeau knows he has to do better in the postseason.
That said, nobody should quibble about his work in the regular season. He has won 998 games as a regular-season coach, passing Pat Riley for fourth place on the Knicks’ all-time coaching wins list on April 5 when he got his 224th win in the team’s 121-105 victory over the Hawks. Thibs should pass Jeff Van Gundy and occupy third place all-time … if he sticks around for 2026.
It is his 38-47 postseason record that stands out. In New York, teams, players, and coaches are judged by postseason results, and more than a few Knicks fans are frustrated that he can’t get his team past the second round.
It started last season when the Knicks lost Game 7 to the Indiana Pacers at home in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They were the better team against a young team that had never experienced the playoffs before, and yet they were blown out 130-109. The Knicks appeared tired against a young, hungry team wanting to prove a point, and fans started wondering if Thibodeau was overworking his players in the regular season, and he lost some fans. Criticism will continue to grow if the Knicks flame out early in the playoffs.
When the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason, they signaled that the team’s goal was to win an NBA championship. For the first time in 12 years, the team’s franchise win total was 51, yet it appears to have been an underachieving season in many ways. Guys struggled to defend, and sometimes the team lacked grit and cohesion. Yes, injuries played a role in all this, but you don’t need to be James Naismith to know this team doesn’t have “it.” You can’t teach grit and heart to a team, and you can’t buy it either.
Considering that the Knicks went 0-10 against the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Thunder this season, you can see why opponents go into match-ups with confidence. Two reasons are the Knicks’ three-point defense and lack of physicality. It’s no wonder that the Detroit Pistons are a trendy pick to beat the Knicks in their first-round matchup.
It’s on Thibodeau to coach them up, and we haven’t seen that in the playoffs. It still hurts that the team didn’t face the Celtics in last year’s Eastern Conference Final. The talent is there to go far, but if the Knicks can’t get past the Pistons, Thibodeau is fair game when it comes to assessing what they should do to improve.
That’s why I believe that the only way Thibodeau can shut up his critics is by having the Knicks in the conference final every year. This year is a good place to start.
