monsterpile wrote:AbeVigodaLive wrote:FNG wrote:I have to admit I'm enjoying the heck out of how these playoffs are developing, even though I haven't watched a minute of action. Specifically,
1) Both LA teams being on the brink of elimination is a delightful and unexpected development.
2) Minnesota villain Jimmy Butler completely stinking up the court in a blowout series
3) Thibs proving once again that he is a terrific coach during the season, but a terrible playoff coach. He's always had a reputation for grinding his team down with in-season full court practices (when other teams are resting or having just video sessions and shootarounds between games), and his teams always seem tired and uncompetitive in the post-season.
What would make this post-season even better would be someone knocking off the superteam Nets, but I don't see that happening.
The team won 7 of its final 10 games. Did they just suddenly get tired in game #73? How much is Thibs to blame for the best player shooting 29.8% in the series?
As for Thibs teams flaming out in the postseason... maybe, but not the "always" hyperbole you use here. If we look at where they were vs. expectations... Can we point to any season where his team was better than the opposition and lost?
Obviously, 2012... when Rose was injured in the game 1 win and Noah was injured in game 3.
2014 and 2021? Both teams were the #4 seeds... but do we judge them vs. regular season overachieving... or losing to more talented teams in the postseason? I guess it's fair to do a bit of both... but I don't know (m)any who would claim either Thibs-coached team had the better talent.
Along the way, his teams made the ECF once and 2nd rd. multiple times... even without the team's best player playing some of those seasons.
So is it "good?" No. But I wouldn't classify it as "terrible" either.
Only 3 players on the Knicks this season averaged over 30mpg.
Yeah, I've never thought that the number of minutes Thibs plays his starters is a problem, and neither do his players. What some of his players have grumbled about though is his in-season grueling practices which take a toll over time. Thibs is a mystery to me. He does seem to make his teams better during the regular season, but his playoff record is difficult to defend. I also found it quite odd that he inserted Gibson and Rose (two guys I like a lot by the way) into the starting lineup in the playoffs, when they had been bench players all year. Why?
I also take issue with the prevailing opinion here that the Wolves' roster is more talented than the Knicks' roster, because as we often do here, that conclusion seems to ignore the defensive side of the ball. I agree that you can make an argument that the Wolves are more talented offensively than the Knicks, but the gap of defensive talent on the two rosters makes that offensive difference largely irrelevant. Some will say offense is about talent and defense is about effort, but I don't see it that way. Take Beasley for instance. His defensive "effort" can't be denied. But his overall defense is awful because he just isn't talented on that side of the ball. He doesn't get it. DLO fails on defense also primarily because of lack of talent, although his effort is questionable at times too. Nope, the Knicks seem to me to be the far more talented team. It's a real stretch to say a 23-win team is more talented than a 41-win team.
Anyway, Thibs deserves credit for the terrific improvement of the Knicks in the regular season. But I also think he deserves a lot of blame for their dreadful postseason performance.
