The New York Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Coach Tom Thibodeau had been forced into makeshift rotations as his team succumbed to multiple injuries. His minutes-management was once again put under the spotlight, as he chose to stick with a seven-man rotation, all receiving significant playing time throughout the postseason.
During a recent episode of “The Roommates” podcast, Brunson revealed that the narrative of New York running out of steam is something that bothers him.
“The one thing I hated the most, even though we were playing well … Whenever we lost, everyone was like, ‘They’re tired’ or ‘They’re injured’ … that p—– me off.” Brunson said. “We had chances to win that series and didn’t. We had a chance to go up 3-0 and we didn’t …That’s not the reason we lost … I hate that narrative.”
By the time the Knicks faced the Pacers in that fateful game seven, they were a shell of themselves. Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, Brunson, Josh Hart, Bojan Bogdanovic and OG Anunoby were all dealing with injury issues. The remaining players had all been eating a steady diet of 40-minute nights throughout the series.
Thibodeau’s minutes-management has been the biggest knock on his coaching throughout his career. He ran a similarly tight rotation during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls. Nevertheless, the veteran head coach is successful. He has rebuilt the Knicks and turned them into a contending franchise.
His methods may be tough, but they generate good results.
Brunson isn’t the first player to defend Thibodeau this season. Multiple members of the Knicks roster spoke out after he was voted as the coach players least wanted to play for earlier in the year. Thibodeau may be tough, but he empowers his players and helps develop their game and put them in winning situations.
Nevertheless, it’s clear the Knicks were running out of gas by the end of the playoffs. Not because Thibodeau ran them into the ground, but because there were too many players carrying an injury.
As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the front office focus on adding some extra depth to the roster during the summer. After all, next season could be the year New York makes a push for the NBA Finals.
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