New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has garnered a less-than-stellar reputation during his career. He is known as someone who relies too heavily on his starters, running them into the ground, leading to injury. But, several Knicks players have come to his defense, with the most recent being Josh Hart.
Josh Hart is one of several New York players who suffered an injury during the 2024 NBA Playoffs. In Game 6 vs. the Indiana Pacers, he had an abdominal strain that he showed a lot of toughness playing through in Game 7.
Ultimately, it went for naught. The New York Knicks lost to the Pacers in that game, also losing star point guard Jalen Brunson to a fractured hand. It was a poetic ending to a season that injuries defined.
Julius Randle was lost for the season because of a shoulder injury. OG Anunoby missed two stretches during the regular season because of an elbow injury and then was sidelined against Indiana with a hamstring strain.
Bojan Bogdanovic suffered an ankle injury against the Philadelphia 76ers that ended his postseason after battling through a wrist ailment. Mitchell Robinson’s ankle injury was re-aggravated on a dirty play by Joel Embiid, as his postseason was ended against the Pacers after a stress reaction was found.
There are people looking to place blame on Tom Thibodeau for those injuries. But, Josh Hart tried to dispel that narrative during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast.
“It might’ve been like that in Chicago or Minnesota but since my year….year and a half since I been here….it be light….it be Thibby chill,” Hart said, via Big Knick Energy on X.
Josh Hart isn’t the first New York Knicks player to say that Tom Thibodeau’s reputation is overblown. Donte DiVincenzo had a similar sentiment when an NBA player poll revealed that the Knicks’ head coach is the one players around the league would least like to play for.
Even NBA analysts have come to the defense of Tom Thibodeau, as the New York Knicks would not be where they are without him. The perfect roster for how he coaches has been assembled and it is up to Leon Rose to put the finishing touches on it this offseason.
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