Two of the highest players Tom Thibodeau ever coached – and the 2 players probably most liable for his NBA championship – imagine he’s being “stubborn” together with his minutes distribution and it’s going to cost the Knicks within the playoffs.
“In some unspecified time in the future, you bought staff, you bought assistants, you bought a GM, you bought presidents (who should tell Thibodeau to stop playing the starters a lot),” Kevin Garnett said on his podcast, “Ticket & The Truth,” co-hosted by Paul Pierce.
“And, it’s a knowledge league, bro. Data might be telling you, ‘Hey, the starting 5 is playing far more minutes than the typical starting 5 within the league. So I’m sure he’s heard this. It goes back to what Paul just said – (Thibodeau) is so stuck in his ways and he knows the right way to win a method, man.”
The conversation about Thibodeau was a story from their time together in Boston, when the present Knicks coach was a Celtics assistant helping guide the franchise to the 2008 championship.
Garnett got into an argument with Thibodeau, who the ability forward believed was pushing the players too hard in a drill.
Garnett went for the deep cut by telling Thibodeau, “You’re never going to be a head coach,” and, in line with Pierce, “It was like two alphas standing up right there and I used to be like, ‘Thibs ain’t backing down, I do know Ticket ain’t backing down.’ But he’s stubborn though sometimes. I feel he gets stubborn.
“He’s a fantastic coach, don’t put nothing in that way,” Pierce added. “But sometimes he gets stuck in his ways and is stubborn.”
Garnett suggested the Knicks stars take the same approach with Thibodeau.
“My only problem with numerous the standard stuff, it doesn’t download the most recent update. Our league is high-paced. …Scores are 130 to 140 (points). The common is 120. That’s All-Star (Game) s–t. The pace of the league is the rationale why we’re it like that,” Garnett said.
“On top of that, nobody has told Thibs – including the players. If I’m Karl-Anthony Towns or I’m (Jalen Brunson), I’m pulling Thibs within the room and I’m saying, ‘Listen.’ It’s a players league, they will get this off. Thibs so stubborn, though, that I don’t know. Nevertheless it’s going to need to be something. Because you’ll be able to’t go up against the Bostons, the Clevelands and never have a bench.
The Knicks entered Friday with 4 of the NBA’s top-5 players in total minutes – 1. Mikal Bridges, 2. Josh Hart, 3. OG Anunoby and 5. Jalen Brunson.
There are several reasons for those numbers, beyond just Thibodeau’s long-standing inclination to increase the minutes of his starters.
The Knicks have been largely healthy this season and haven’t missed as many games as the remaining of the NBA. They’re also predictably thin on the bench after splurging on their starters within the offseason, leaving few assets and no cap space to fill out the roster.
The result and, perhaps, drained legs are the Knicks entered Friday at No. 22 in net rating in fourth quarters at -2.9 while being outscored by 28 points. Conversely, for the primary three quarters, they were ranked no lower than No. 8 in net rating and outscored the opposition by 244.
“I feel it’s clear cut obvious with the Knicks,” Pierce said. “They’re front-loaded with their starting lineup. They’re getting run into the bottom. They’re all playing 40-plus minutes – and I said this from Day 1 – they don’t have depth.
“So now they’re depending on all their starters to play 40 minutes, the s–t goes to get you. Now we’re on the halfway mark. Everyone has played 40, 41 games. They’re getting drained. They’re getting drained. And I’ve said this – they’re good, and so they’re going to probably win a playoff series. But they got to make a move or they got to attend until (Mitchell Robinson comes back).
“They need some depth. They need some depth on the perimeter, actually. Because they’re all playing 40 minutes for them to win. They’re all going to get their numbers. It’s going to look sweet. But they’re going to get drained in that fourth quarter. And that’s what I’m seeing.”
Pierce said the Knicks should trade for a fringe player but additionally implored Thibodeau to make use of his bench more often.
Heading into Friday, the Knicks were ranked dead-last in bench points, bench minutes but had a good bench net rating (ranked No. 8).
“When you don’t trust these guys, that is the time to begin developing them,” Pierce said.
”
Two of the highest players Tom Thibodeau ever coached – and the 2 players probably most liable for his NBA championship – imagine he’s being “stubborn” together with his minutes distribution and it’s going to cost the Knicks within the playoffs.
“In some unspecified time in the future, you bought staff, you bought assistants, you bought a GM, you bought presidents (who should tell Thibodeau to stop playing the starters a lot),” Kevin Garnett said on his podcast, “Ticket & The Truth,” co-hosted by Paul Pierce.
“And, it’s a knowledge league, bro. Data might be telling you, ‘Hey, the starting 5 is playing far more minutes than the typical starting 5 within the league. So I’m sure he’s heard this. It goes back to what Paul just said – (Thibodeau) is so stuck in his ways and he knows the right way to win a method, man.”
The conversation about Thibodeau was a story from their time together in Boston, when the present Knicks coach was a Celtics assistant helping guide the franchise to the 2008 championship.
Garnett got into an argument with Thibodeau, who the ability forward believed was pushing the players too hard in a drill.
Garnett went for the deep cut by telling Thibodeau, “You’re never going to be a head coach,” and, in line with Pierce, “It was like two alphas standing up right there and I used to be like, ‘Thibs ain’t backing down, I do know Ticket ain’t backing down.’ But he’s stubborn though sometimes. I feel he gets stubborn.
“He’s a fantastic coach, don’t put nothing in that way,” Pierce added. “But sometimes he gets stuck in his ways and is stubborn.”
Garnett suggested the Knicks stars take the same approach with Thibodeau.
“My only problem with numerous the standard stuff, it doesn’t download the most recent update. Our league is high-paced. …Scores are 130 to 140 (points). The common is 120. That’s All-Star (Game) s–t. The pace of the league is the rationale why we’re it like that,” Garnett said.
“On top of that, nobody has told Thibs – including the players. If I’m Karl-Anthony Towns or I’m (Jalen Brunson), I’m pulling Thibs within the room and I’m saying, ‘Listen.’ It’s a players league, they will get this off. Thibs so stubborn, though, that I don’t know. Nevertheless it’s going to need to be something. Because you’ll be able to’t go up against the Bostons, the Clevelands and never have a bench.
The Knicks entered Friday with 4 of the NBA’s top-5 players in total minutes – 1. Mikal Bridges, 2. Josh Hart, 3. OG Anunoby and 5. Jalen Brunson.
There are several reasons for those numbers, beyond just Thibodeau’s long-standing inclination to increase the minutes of his starters.
The Knicks have been largely healthy this season and haven’t missed as many games as the remaining of the NBA. They’re also predictably thin on the bench after splurging on their starters within the offseason, leaving few assets and no cap space to fill out the roster.
The result and, perhaps, drained legs are the Knicks entered Friday at No. 22 in net rating in fourth quarters at -2.9 while being outscored by 28 points. Conversely, for the primary three quarters, they were ranked no lower than No. 8 in net rating and outscored the opposition by 244.
“I feel it’s clear cut obvious with the Knicks,” Pierce said. “They’re front-loaded with their starting lineup. They’re getting run into the bottom. They’re all playing 40-plus minutes – and I said this from Day 1 – they don’t have depth.
“So now they’re depending on all their starters to play 40 minutes, the s–t goes to get you. Now we’re on the halfway mark. Everyone has played 40, 41 games. They’re getting drained. They’re getting drained. And I’ve said this – they’re good, and so they’re going to probably win a playoff series. But they got to make a move or they got to attend until (Mitchell Robinson comes back).
“They need some depth. They need some depth on the perimeter, actually. Because they’re all playing 40 minutes for them to win. They’re all going to get their numbers. It’s going to look sweet. But they’re going to get drained in that fourth quarter. And that’s what I’m seeing.”
Pierce said the Knicks should trade for a fringe player but additionally implored Thibodeau to make use of his bench more often.
Heading into Friday, the Knicks were ranked dead-last in bench points, bench minutes but had a good bench net rating (ranked No. 8).
“When you don’t trust these guys, that is the time to begin developing them,” Pierce said.
”
