The firing of Tom Thibodeau from his New York Knicks head coach position has produced many shocking reactions. The reason is clear. Thibodeau is undoubtedly the best coach the Knicks have had for over a decade.
During Tom Thibodeau’s five seasons of tenure, the Knicks recorded a 56.5% win rate. He led the franchise into four different postseasons, including his first Eastern Conference Final appearance since 2000.
Some of the people who were shocked by the decision are former All-Star DeMarcus cousins. His response stems from Thibodeau’s success in transforming the Knicks into a competitor team.
“I was shocked. Obviously, I’ll talk about how Tibs had success when he was with the Knicks. Before he got there, they weren’t the team they were in where they were, and not even close to what they were most recent.”
“But in my opinion, I think it was a bit of an overreaction. I think they reached an overreach in the playoffs, and that was great for them.
However, the former Golden State Warriors player believes there is a mistake Thibodeau made during his tenure with the Knicks. One big issue was his use of a small lineup.
Throughout the season, Thibodeau overused his lineup featuring Mikal Bridges, Jaren Branson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl Anthony Towns. This strategy not only caused concerns about fatigue and injury, but also exposed defensive vulnerabilities.
At the Eastern Conference Finals, the lineup proved vulnerable to physical teams like the Indiana Pacers. Thibodeau eventually made the adjustments by bringing Mitchell Robinson into the first five to replace Hart, but the changes were too late.
“I think they were able to go with Tib next season, adjust the roster and improve the team.
“He’s overestimating them. It’s a very short lineup regular season and it’s running the postseason. So all of this played a factor that makes it shorter in playoff runs.”
Despite his criticism of the decision, Cousins acknowledged the organization’s reality. The former center pointed to Thibodeau’s infamous reputation for abusing players both through the regular season and the playoff campaign.
“I still feel it was a bit of an overreaction, but obviously the Knicks are in a winning mode. They’re planning on improving this team and moving forward.
The news has already emerged as Jason Kidd is a possible option to become the next Knicks coach. It is clear that the path ahead of the Knicks has already begun.