The New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 119-81 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
It was a historic day for the Knicks as they reached the conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
Jason Tatum’s Achilles injury has made the results easier, but it still deserves equal praise.
The reputation of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and several Knicks players was boosted by their performances in the series.
But head coach Tom Thibodeau has actually been heavily criticized for his specific Game 6 decision.
While most people consider Thibodeau to be a great NBA head coach, he is also well known for his unpopular traits.
Most coaches sub-out the starter in blowout games, but Thibodeau keeps players constantly until the outcome is virtually confirmed.
This plagues NBA fans as key players have taken them at unnecessary risk of injuries, undoubtedly leading to Derrick Rose’s ACL injury.
“Tom Thibodeau is honestly a fool,” he wrote. “I think he’ll learn his lesson of keeping players for a long time after Derrick Rose, but he’s continuing to do this. Whether he goes to the final or not, he has to let go.”
“Tom Thibodeau is showing why he’s a bad coach right now,” another said. “He’s fourth and up 40, his starter is on the floor, and this guy ruins Derrick Rose’s career and does it all over this roster.
“Tibodeau, take out the starter. There’s no risk of getting hurt. There’s no need to learn from your F,” an angry Knicks fan tweeted.
“We have to turn off the game. Tibbs now plays the guys, giving (Derrick Rose) a flashback,” a Chicago Bulls fan commented.
“Tom Thibodeau, who leaves his starter at over 30 in the middle of the fourth quarter, is a demonically trivial thing,” one added.
The New York Knicks’ starting lineup is probably better than their Eastern Conference Finals opponents, Indiana Pacers.
What New York definitely doesn’t like to like is the depth of the bench. Thibodeau only trusts Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson and, to a lesser extent, valuable Achua.
The Knicks’ bench only scored 21.7 points per game in the regular season, compared to the Pacers’ 39.8 points.
In fact, Rick Carlisle has the entire bench unit of TJ McConnell, Ben Sheppard, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and Thomas Bryant.
This clearly gives them an advantage over the Knicks. That starter needs to do almost all the damage to win the series.