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New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has never been known as an offensive whiz, and that may be proving true again this season.
Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports this weekend that a couple of top Knicks players have privately expressed frustrations about how the team’s offense has played out this year. Begley adds that the offensive performance of the Knicks’ starting lineup has been particularly underwhelming.
While the Knicks are 12th in the NBA in offensive efficiency this season, they are a bottom-ten team when it comes to pace. Begley notes that the Knicks scored just 13 points in the first quarter against the lowly Houston Rockets on Saturday. It is not clear which players specifically may be frustrated. But leading scorers Julius Randle (19.6 points per game this season, down from 24.1 last season) and RJ Barrett (15.3, down from 17.6) are both in the midst of scoring downturns.
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The sky is not exactly falling for the Knicks, who are still a respectable 9-7 on the year overall. But this is not the first time that we have heard of frustration from within about Thibodeau’s offense.
Photo: Greg M. Cooper-USA Today Sports