New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is raising the stakes for his team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics.
Thibodeau had a great deal of praise for the Celtics organization in his press conference Monday ahead of Monday’s series opener at TD Garden in Boston. He did say, however, that the franchise has one shortcoming: Brian Scalabrine.
“The only hole in the franchise is Scalabrine,” Thibodeau said.
Tom Thibodeau raved about the Celtics organization and his time with the team then finished with this joke.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 5, 2025
“The only hole in the franchise is Scalabrine.”
This is a joke from Thibodeau, though Scalabrine probably was not expecting to catch strays here. Scalabrine is a fan favorite among Celtics supporters, having spent five years with the team as a popular depth piece. He currently serves as an analyst for Celtics broadcasts.
Scalabrine will take this one in stride. It is not the first time he’s been called out, and it likely won’t be the last.
The Celtics are favorites for the series against the Knicks as they look to win a second straight title. The Knicks, meanwhile, might actually enjoy being the underdog tasked with playfully calling out the opposition after some of the comments they were on the other end of in their series against the Detroit Pistons.
