record through two seasons as their head coach, Tom Thibodeau could very well be entering the 2022-23 season on the “hot seat.”
Things have not gone well for the New York Knicks in a while, as they have made the playoffs just four times since the start of the 2004-05 season. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, they have made the playoffs just once and that was in Tom Thibodeau’s first season as the head coach of the team.Going 41-31 during the 2020-21 season, the Knicks finally looked like they were taking a major step forward with the emergence of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle putting together an All-Star, NBA Most Improved Player season, but one step forward resulted in two steps backwards this past season.
The Knicks missed the playoffs once again this past year and now, heading into his third season with the team, Thibodeau could very much be on the “hot sea.”
A lot has gone wrong for the Knicks over the years and while there are many you could point the finger towards for this lack of overall success, Thibodeau could very much be the “scapegoat” for management to blame should things go wrong once again during the 2022-23 season.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto had Knicks beat writer Stefon Bondy on the recently to talk about the team’s offseason, as well as what the future holds for New York.
While discussing what happened with Donovan Mitchell trade talks and what the Knicks will look to do moving forward, the topic of Tom Thibodeau was brought up with Bondy offering some interesting insight to what Thibodeau’s job security looks like.
“I think the baseline should be an improvement from last season… If they’re struggling like they did last season, I think Tom Thibodeau’s in trouble,” Bondy stated. “It’s always the coach that’s the first one to go.”
New York has had its fair share of coaches over the last decade or so, as Thibodeau is the eighth different acting head coach the Knicks have had since the start of the 2010-11 season.