Knicks' Tom Thibodeau, Mavs' Jason Kidd set playoff courses
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau watches as his team plays the Charlotte Hornets during the second half of an NBA game in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday. Credit: AP/Nell Redmond
Jason Kidd arrived at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night as a coach, trying to drag his injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks squad into the postseason. It’s already been 12 years since he was here as a player for the last time with coach Mike Woodson, trying to push the Knicks to the finish line with the gas tank on empty.
“He was a great coach. We had a great run here,” Kidd said, adding jokingly, “I blamed him for ending my career.”
Woodson had no choice with reality, injuries and age conspiring to bring the Knicks’ postseason run to an end in the 2012-13 season. And Kidd joked that the rim looked like it was a mile away as he went scoreless over the final 10 games of that postseason. That was the last time the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference semifinals before the current group did it in the last two seasons. And now they find themselves again trying to figure out how to get to the postseason intact.
As they approached Tuesday’s game against the Mavericks the Knicks find themselves trying to balance the final 12 games, the injuries they are already nursing and a need to get to the postseason intact. Hopefully it will be unlike last season when Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and finally Jalen Brunson all succumbed to injuries.
This year Tom Thibodeau will have to figure out a plan with the medical staff to get Brunson ready and not risk aggravating his sprained right ankle. It is an injury that has already sidelined him for nine games with two more scheduled before the next reevaluation.
But Thibodeau also is trying to work Robinson into shape as he returned this month after sitting out the first 58 games of the season. He is still on a minutes “guideline” and held out for one night of back-to-back sets (he did not play in Tuesday’s game). Deuce McBride sat out his second straight game with a groin strain.
Thibodeau has absorbed criticism and questions about the minutes load with his starting five absorbing a huge minutes load. Mikal Bridges is first in the NBA in total minutes while Hart is third and Anunoby 15th. Hart leads in minutes per game and all five starters are in the top 21 in that category.
“There’s a number of different ways you can pace your team,” Thibodeau said. “I think oftentimes people will look at minutes played but they don’t understand what’s going on in practice. They don’t understand what you’re doing for recovery.
“There’s a lot of things that occur. Maybe there’s not contact in practice, maybe a guy has a sub in practice. Maybe a guy is not doing practice. There’s a lot that goes into it. I think you lean on the medical people. You lean on the players and you have an understanding of what it’s going to take.”
The Knicks are holding onto the third seed in the East, but that has become tenuous with the Pacers 2 1⁄2 games back entering Tuesday and the Knicks facing an arduous schedule down the stretch.
“As a coach, we’re focused on winning,” Kidd said. “But understanding the marathon can be long. There’s so many different scenarios, injuries to other guys. Are you fighting for homecourt? Have you already locked up the No. 1 seeding? So it becomes rhythm. There’s a lot of answers to the question. It’s not just one, and everyone’s different in philosophy. But it comes down to rhythm and making sure you’re healthy and ready to make a run for that trophy.”
The hope for the Knicks is that they can get players healthy, and Thibodeau has reached down into the bench for Tyler Kolek and the Knicks even activated rookie Kevin McCullar Jr. for the first time this season.
“I think each team is different,” Thibodeau said. “I think everybody has to run their own race. If you look at it, some teams are playing more guys, some are playing less guys. There’s no right or wrong. There’s what you feel is best for your team, what gives you the best chance to have the most success. You look at teams like Denver what [Nikola] Jokic is doing. [Kevin] Durant is doing what he’s doing. What [Jayson] Tatum is doing. There’s a lot of guys that are playing 36, 37 minutes. Whatever your team is, you have to trust there’s an understanding that goes into how to pace a team.”
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.
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