Tom Thibodeau is known for bringing the best out of his team, both as men and players, specifically in the defense area. The New York Knicks have gone through six coaches in the past ten years, and finally Thibs seems to be the fit. 

For the 2021 season, the Knicks have played seven games and are currently 4-3. Out of those seven games they have won three in a row; to examine in depth of how much of an improvement this is, the Knicks last year only won four of their last 24. It appears that if they keep this up they will be in a good position for the remainder of the season.

Tom prides himself in instilling the hard work mentality in his new players and forces them to move the ball, play defense, and never stop pushing.

 Per The New York post “I think the togetherness is a big part of it. I think the willingness to share the ball, to play hard for each other,” Said Thibs after the win over the hawks.

The Knicks are now ranked nine in the league for defensive rating at (106.1) per the New York post and it is also a huge improvement from last year’s defensive rating ranked at 23rd (122.4). 

The stats show clearly that Thibs is making a huge change as a whole, judging that in their past few games they have managed to keep a high scoring team to score less than their team average. 

The Bucks averaged 127 points per the NBA and the Knicks only allowed 110 to be scored on them. They also kept the Cavs down to 86 when their team average was 107.5. Also, they beat the Raptors who averaged 107 and they only scored 100, plus the Pacers who averaged 117 and kept them down to 102. Last but not least, the Hawks, who average 120, and the Knicks only managed to score 108 points off the Knicks’ defense.

While the Knicks have a solid roster, they have no true stand-alone star; therefore, when Thibs took over he knew he had to make playing smart, rebounding and defense a main priority. Thibs said to ESPN, “The big thing is if you defend and you rebound and you take care of the ball, you’re going to be in position to win.”

Julius Randle, a main problem of last year’s losses, has completely stepped in under the wing of Thibs. He usually tries to do too much, but this season he has been smart and unselfish and that is due to the respect he has for Thibs and also the risk he has if he is not a team player under the new coach. 

Equally as important, the backcourt duo of “Quivers”, (Austin Rivers and Immanueal Quickely) has been smart, fast, and efficient on the other end of the court making prime scoring options for the team. 

This is all thanks to Thibs and the messages and playset he is instilling in his players. Yes, it is only the start of the season, but it seems as if Tom is accomplishing a huge turn around within the Knicks making them great and exciting again.