What's next for the Knicks after the Tom Thibodeau firing?
A couple of days ago, the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau just after their Eastern Conference Finals series loss to the Indiana Pacers. The firing didn't come as a surprise to many people, as the fans wanted him gone after they "blew" the series away. They are already looking towards his replacement and if it is going to be Michael Malone, Mike Brown, or even Stephen A Smith. But, today we aren't here to talk about who the next coach will be. We are going to be breaking down the firing, grading it for the Knicks, and discussing how this new coach will affect fantasy basketball.
According to sources all across the league, the Knicks key players such as Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges played a huge factor in this move. Bridges especially seemed to want him gone the most, and there were rumors that he was constantly complaining about playing too much, and not letting the bench guys play more. Fatigue was a huge concern down the stretch for the Knicks, as it almost looks like they ran out of gas at the end of the series.
We are going to be grading the firing of Tom Thibodeau a B+. On one side of things, he was the fourth most winningest coach in Knicks history, and has had the most wins by a coach since the turn of the century. He led them to the first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years, and has made the playoffs in four out of five seasons he has been with them. But on the other hand, Thibs has refused to play his bench time and time again in the playoffs, and it came back to bite him in the behind this time around. The firing was definitely warranted by the Knicks, as they believe that they have the roster to win a championship, but the flaws in their coaching was a main reason why they couldn't reach their goals.
On the fantasy aspect of things, this new coach, whoever they are, is going to make an immediate difference on the impact of the players of the New York Knicks. You can expect a severe change in minutes for all of the starters on the Knicks. All of the Knicks starters are averaging over 35 minutes per game, which is the most in the NBA by far. Expect the starters to all decrease to normal starters minutes, which would be hovering around 29-31 minutes per game. Instead of these players, expect way more minutes for guys like Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, and Precious Achiuwa. As we all know, more minutes=more production, which means more fantasy points for them.
In conclusion, the Tom Thibodeau firing by the Knicks was warranted by them, but it's still up in the air on if it will work out for them. For all we know, the Knicks could still win 50+ games next season and it will look like nothing happened. The other thing that still hasn't been decided is the future of Karl-Anthony Towns with the Knicks, as there have been rumors flying around left and right that he will be traded this offseason. We have no insight on if he will end up getting traded, but we can tell you that we will report to you guys if we get any news.
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