More than 25 games in: I think it's clear what this team needs to be elite
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 3:47 pm
We have tremendous talent on the roster right now. Tremendous. But talent always has to be married to a system that best fits that talent.
Right now you can easily argue that Thibs does NOT maximize the current talent on the roster with his preferred system and would probably be right.
Let's take a look at Thibs history as a coach especially his last 4+ years here:
Year 1. Bullock was our great wing defender and we have a couple very good other defenders. Heck even Randle was playing some D that year. The D on that team was amazing but had no offense outside an unlcutch Randle and got bounced first round. Also Had an elite rim protecting and rebounding 5 as a staple of that defense.
Year 2. We bring in Kemba and Forunier to add some offense. However these guys are the opposite of good fits for Thibs defensive system that relies on dropping in the paint but quickly closing out on the 3. The team got destroyed by the 3 ball. probably Thibs worst year here to date bc the personell was such a bad fit.
Year 3. Gets Brunson and Hart. Rj and Julius both volume scorers and not great fits together. Still Had an elite rim protecting 5 as a staple of that defense however we get bounced from playoffs in round 2 bc the offense just didnt have enough well fitting pieces together
Year 4. Enter OG. Team takes off as soon as we add another elite wing defender. Now have more balanced 3 pt shooting with Donte. Team goes like 20-5 post OG but injuries eventually absolutely decimate the team. An elite rim protecting 5 was still very much a staple of that defense. Get bounced in 2nd round bc more than half of team was out due to injuries despite an absolutely historic playoff performance by Brunson.
Year 5. KAT and Bridges added. However we are without both IHart (FA) and Mitch ( recovering from injury) for entire season so far. Teams offense is playing phenomenal but Defense looks nowhere near the same and the offensive rebounds given up to other team go way up. Team is acclimating but still look greatly affected a lot of the time without a stud rim protector around the rim. The hope was a switching defense would take time to learn but once they get it D would be good enough. Doesn't look to be the case right now. We see why Minny added Goebert next to KAT and when they did they went to the WCF last year. Thibs does play SOME switch but it is not nearly as good as his other methods of defense when he has the right type of C in the lineup.
Conclusion: We either need to move on from Thibs and find a coach like Houston/Boston etc that truly know how to maximize a switching defense....OR we need to get that elite rim protecting Center in here asap. Whether that means hoping for a healthy Mitch Robinson or adding a FA , it needs to be done. This team is extremely close. Extremely. But we have to get that 5 here. This team is not winning a championship without that type of 5 under Tom Thibodeau.
Right now you can easily argue that Thibs does NOT maximize the current talent on the roster with his preferred system and would probably be right.
Let's take a look at Thibs history as a coach especially his last 4+ years here:
Year 1. Bullock was our great wing defender and we have a couple very good other defenders. Heck even Randle was playing some D that year. The D on that team was amazing but had no offense outside an unlcutch Randle and got bounced first round. Also Had an elite rim protecting and rebounding 5 as a staple of that defense.
Year 2. We bring in Kemba and Forunier to add some offense. However these guys are the opposite of good fits for Thibs defensive system that relies on dropping in the paint but quickly closing out on the 3. The team got destroyed by the 3 ball. probably Thibs worst year here to date bc the personell was such a bad fit.
Year 3. Gets Brunson and Hart. Rj and Julius both volume scorers and not great fits together. Still Had an elite rim protecting 5 as a staple of that defense however we get bounced from playoffs in round 2 bc the offense just didnt have enough well fitting pieces together
Year 4. Enter OG. Team takes off as soon as we add another elite wing defender. Now have more balanced 3 pt shooting with Donte. Team goes like 20-5 post OG but injuries eventually absolutely decimate the team. An elite rim protecting 5 was still very much a staple of that defense. Get bounced in 2nd round bc more than half of team was out due to injuries despite an absolutely historic playoff performance by Brunson.
Year 5. KAT and Bridges added. However we are without both IHart (FA) and Mitch ( recovering from injury) for entire season so far. Teams offense is playing phenomenal but Defense looks nowhere near the same and the offensive rebounds given up to other team go way up. Team is acclimating but still look greatly affected a lot of the time without a stud rim protector around the rim. The hope was a switching defense would take time to learn but once they get it D would be good enough. Doesn't look to be the case right now. We see why Minny added Goebert next to KAT and when they did they went to the WCF last year. Thibs does play SOME switch but it is not nearly as good as his other methods of defense when he has the right type of C in the lineup.
Conclusion: We either need to move on from Thibs and find a coach like Houston/Boston etc that truly know how to maximize a switching defense....OR we need to get that elite rim protecting Center in here asap. Whether that means hoping for a healthy Mitch Robinson or adding a FA , it needs to be done. This team is extremely close. Extremely. But we have to get that 5 here. This team is not winning a championship without that type of 5 under Tom Thibodeau.