Chanel Bomber wrote:The notion that Thibs is doing a poor job coaching the team when the Knicks have been top 5 in net rating through most of the season and is literally in contention for best offense in NBA history is a bit of a reach to me.
Sure, I agree to a considerable extent with the minutes thing, particularly in the case of OG.
And the defense is perhaps too radical in leaving 3-point shooters open. But we have to acknowledge that protecting the paint is the top priority, as it remains the most efficient source of offense. And without a rim protector, our wing defenders have to collapse towards the paint in order to provide the help needed to protect the basket.
But he's a highly competent coach, who's running a high-powered offense, and coaching a defense that is holding up statistically despite having no rim protector, and one of the worst (though willing) defenders in the league in Brunson. My point is, our defense isn't great, but it could be a lot worse with some of our personnel. And while I agree with a lot of the complaints about the minutes, the team does lack depth.
You think our offensive success is more because of Thibs than the crazy talent we have on that end? I don’t see anything really creative being executed. Pretty basic stuff and KAT and Mikal aren’t really being maximized to their fullest ability… kinda crazy in KAT’s case considering how well he’s doing off sheer talent. And why are we forcing so many shots with the shot clock winding down under 3 seconds so often? It’s like all the time.
Defensively, he’s forcing a square peg in a round hole with KAT in the drop. Not switching anywhere near enough is causing guys to die on screens and our bigs getting killed in the drop, not to mention creating open 3’s for the opponent. The breakdown in communication, rotations, etc is killing us a lot on that end and costing our defenders too much energy and unnecessary contact.
Like you got a screen Mikal slams into, now he’s taken out of the play, ball handler and roller now attack the basket with KAT hesitating in drop, help defender rotates to assist, leaving a wide open 3 that the ball handler kicks out to. Just 1 scenario that happens too often. Another scenario, defender dies on the screen, KAT drops, gives ball handler wide open 3.
Being forced to watch Thibs stick to this kind of coverage is frustrating and that combined with uninspiring offense (that most of us know has potential to be much better) along with this phony reputation for preparedness despite preferring to protect the paint against a team like Boston who takes more 3’s than 2’s, gives him a below average grade imo.
RIP mags
