The New York Knicks are eyeing a deep playoff run this year, but if things go south, there\u2019s already chatter about who\u2019s going to get the blame\u2014and all eyes are on head coach Tom Thibodeau.<\/p>\n
NBA analyst Bill Simmons recently labeled Thibodeau a \u201chot seat\u201d candidate, and with good reason. The Knicks are likely heading into a brutal second-round series against the reigning champs, the Boston Celtics\u2014if<\/em> they can first get past a fired-up young Detroit Pistons squad in round one.<\/p>\n Thibodeau has a rep as a brilliant basketball mind and a defensive guru, but that might not be enough to save his job. After all, top-tier coaches like Mike Malone (who literally won<\/em> a championship) and Taylor Jenkins have already been let go this season. In today\u2019s NBA, nobody\u2019s really safe.<\/p>\n Simmons\u2019s main critique? Thibs doesn\u2019t bring enough flair on offense, and he has a habit of pushing his starters to the brink during the regular season\u2014something that can backfire big-time in the playoffs.<\/p>\n If the Knicks flop against Boston or even stumble in round one, don\u2019t be shocked if the front office decides it\u2019s time for a fresh voice.<\/p>\n And if Thibs does<\/em> get the boot? He won\u2019t be unemployed for long. The coaching carousel is already spinning. The Phoenix Suns just parted ways with Mike Budenholzer, and they\u2019re reportedly looking at big names like Malone. If they strike out there, Thibodeau could be next on their list.<\/p>\n Honestly? He\u2019d be a solid fit. Phoenix is in chaos mode right now and could use a no-nonsense leader to bring structure and grit. Thibs delivers both. He might not be everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but wherever he goes, players show up and play hard.<\/p>\n So yeah, the Knicks\u2019 postseason could shape not just their future\u2014but Thibodeau\u2019s next chapter, and maybe even the identity of another franchise in need of leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The New York Knicks are eyeing a deep playoff run this year, but if things go south, there\u2019s already chatter\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":66360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[13925,13926,25659],"class_list":["post-66359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","tag-knicks","tag-knicks-nba","tag-tom-thibodeau"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}