The New York Knicks’ season came to a somewhat disappointing end in the Eastern Conference Finals, but that appears unlikely to cost coach Tom Thibodeau his job.
There has been some minor speculation about Thibodeau’s future after the Knicks’ loss to the Indiana Pacers, especially after the somewhat desperate lineup tinkering he engaged in late in the series. However, he does not appear to be going anywhere. According to James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz of The Athletic, Thibodeau retains the backing of team president Leon Rose, and has the public support of Jalen Brunson as well.
The decision on Thibodeau ultimately lies with owner James Dolan, but there are no indications that the team is considering a change.
Some of the old critiques of Thibodeau resurfaced this year, most notably his habit of playing his top players heavy minutes. One of those players even wound up going to the media about the workload.
Thibodeau also appeared to be outcoached by Indiana’s Rick Carlisle during the playoffs, and made some other controversial decisions even before that point.
On the other hand, the Knicks just played in their first conference finals since 2000, and Thibodeau deserves credit for that. It is fair to question whether he is the coach that can push the team over the hump, but for now, he has not given his bosses much reason to want to part ways with him.
