Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau's demanding, gritty nature has created a team worth loving
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the first half of an NBA game against the Nuggets on Jan. 25 at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
When the Lakers face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, the record may be middling, the roster tilted heavily with two stars and mostly filler behind them, but it is, as always, Showtime. LeBron James still commands the spotlight. The glitz and glamour always surround the franchise.
But the Knicks are something else. Their star point guard has spent the season hearing the same critiques he has all his life — not a real star, too small, not athletic enough. The injuries have piled up. And the coach . . . Unlike the Showtime Lakers who spawned books and dramatized series with a coach in Pat Riley who set fashion and hairstyle trends, let’s just say only those of a certain age look at Tom Thibodeau as a fashion icon.
What Thibodeau has done, though — as much as Riley did in each of his stops — is set a style, a culture on the court that has brought the Knicks to a place they haven’t been in decades.
Who knows how it will turn out in the end. Who knows if they can do the things they haven’t done in decades — reach the conference finals, get to the NBA Finals or even capture their first title in more than 50 years. But as an embodiment of what Thibodeau demands, the Knicks already have captured the hearts of the city with a gritty toughness, not pretty in style but beautiful in the eyes of the faithful.
Is it what the players are or what the coach has molded them into this season? Did the Villanova crew arrive built for this or has Thibodeau created this culture?
“It’s a mixture, but it really starts with him,” Jalen Brunson said. “Everyone sees Thibs always yelling . . . but he always makes sure we’re ready to go. He’s done a great job — not just this month, but since I’ve been here, since I’ve known him.”
“He brings out what the guys have and he demands it every single day,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “Whether it’s a practice day, whether it’s a shootaround, he demands it every day. You start to see guys that maybe other places that they’re not demanding it every single day, so you don’t see it brought out of them. You’re not going to get on the court here if that’s not your identity. Everybody on this roster has that identity. So when he demands it every single day, that’s all you see. It’s a credit to him just staying on us every single day and not getting too high, not getting too low.”
It is a high point now, with nine straight victories and 15 in 17 games, earning Thibodeau Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors for January and pulling the Knicks to the third seed in the East, just a half-game behind Milwaukee.
It has been good enough that Thibodeau has been spotted laughing in news conferences, smiling on the sidelines. And even though the Knicks appear headed to the playoffs for the third time in his four seasons, it took this team to seemingly endear him to the fans at Madison Square Garden. It’s an odd relationship, though, because the team that has become a favorite of the home crowd is a reflection of Thibodeau.
While rumors haven’t stopped about the franchise chasing a star, what has made the Knicks the object of the city’s affection is their overachieving nature — something that isn’t always pretty but possesses the traits they love, the toughness and fight. Amid this winning streak, the Knicks have lost Julius Randle to a dislocated right shoulder, OG Anunoby to right elbow inflammation and Quentin Grimes to a knee issue and already were playing without Mitchell Robinson. And it hasn’t slowed them down at all.
“When people go out, to have the mental toughness to be ready, to step in and get the job done,” Thibodeau said. “Everyone is capable of playing great defense. Everyone is capable of rebounding. Everyone is capable of sharing the ball. Everyone is capable of playing smart.”
“The thing you can say about Thibs, no matter what, he’s always going to be prepared,” DiVincenzo said. “He’s going to have everybody prepared, top to bottom of the roster, because you never know with this league. How the NBA works is you never know whose night it is. He’s always going the extra mile to make sure everybody is prepared. That’s what he’s been doing for so long. That’s a credit to him. That’s why we’re in the position right now . . . because he has us prepared every single day. Those games where guys go out, you’re playing against a struggling team, it doesn’t matter. Every game’s like a playoff game to Thibs.”
Following the lead of their coach, the Knicks not only treat every game like a playoff game but can look at the postseason with hope and belief that they are not just interlopers. It's the first time the franchise can claim that since Carmelo Anthony and a cast of veterans made it to the second round in the 2012-13 season before it fell apart.
Wherever it comes from, the coach or the players, this team may fall short, but it won’t be because it didn’t push hard enough.
“I think the readiness of the guys that are coming in, I think is huge,” Thibodeau said. “ . . . I think most teams go through things like that, and mental toughness is a big part of that, how you handle adversity, and to come out in a positive way, I think that makes you stronger. So each day, don't feel too good about yourself. Just get ready for the next day. Get ready for the next team, because the best thing about this league, if you love competition, is that you're going to get challenged each and every day. It should bring out the best in us.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
