The New York Knicks have raised expectations after a brilliant performance during the 2023-24 season. During the offseason break, they gave away four unprotected first-round picks to add two-way star Mikal Bridges to the lineup. This addition has further sparked hopes for their first championship since 1973.
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The onus is now on Head Coach Tom Thibodeau to take his team to the promised land. But the task can be complicated.
The Gil’s Arena crew debated if the added depth after Bridges’ inclusion would make Thibodeau’s job easier. Rashad McCants opined that the inclusion of the two-way star will be a boon for the Knicks.
He accepted that coach Thibs would have to make major adjustments to his rotations from last year, but he believes things would work out just fine considering the talent pool.
On the other hand, Arenas believes that Thibodeau will have a hard time allotting minutes because of the logjam at the off-guard and wing positions. It can mean delayed success for the roster.
Currently, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Mikal Bridges occupy those positions. All of them are starting-level players, making it hard for Coach Thibs to assign any one of them a bench role.
Arenas pointed out that earlier Thibodeau didn’t have to think twice before giving Josh Hart 40+ minutes almost every game. But now, he will have to attribute minutes carefully so that his key players don’t feel snubbed.
Thus, for Arenas, this season will test coach Tom Thibodeau’s coaching abilities to the max. He relayed,
“Now he [Thibs] has to come up with an actual game plan. Like now he has to coach because you have a team now. Now we’re about to see what Thibs is about. He might not be ready to make decisions that he never had to make.”
Thibodeau loves giving his starters mega minutes and isn’t known for managing the bench minutes well. This is why Arenas is skeptical about his success in managing a deep roster.
However, there are plenty of reasons for the veteran coach to be excited about.
Will the Villanova connection pave the way for something special?
The quartet of Bridges, DiVincenzo, Jalen Brunson, and Hart won the 2016 NCAA Championship together for the Villanova Wildcats. They are once again reunited with the Knicks now.
Thus, the core of “Nova Knicks” comes in with established title-winning chemistry.
The addition of Bridges further bolsters the defense since the team already had elite defenders in Hart, DiVincenzo, and OG Anunoby.
Bridges also provides them with shot-creation skills, something the Knicks dearly missed during the 2024 playoffs after their key offensive option Julius Randle got injured.
Apart from that, their fastbreak game can also be lethal considering the presence of multiple athletic players in the frontline.
However, there can be some chemistry issues especially early on. Randle looks the odd one out in the new-look Knicks. This offseason he has been left behind in Knicks’ plans, which means that they may have to trade him soon.
Despite such issues, the two-way promise of the Nova Knicks makes them a strong contender to take down the 2024 champions, Boston Celtics in the East. But as Arenas said, coach Tom Thibodeau’s approach will determine how far they will go.
