“Don’t Want To Play For Tom Thibodeau”: Retired NBA Star Breaks Down The Knicks’ Slew Of Injuries

The situation could not be any worse for the New York Knicks at the moment. After the likes of Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic were ruled out for the entire postseason, the team also had to play without OG Anunoby in Games 3 & 4. The extended minutes seem to be the biggest reason behind the Knicks missing four of their best players. So, Chandler Parsons finds it justifiable that Tom Thibodeau was the coach that players in the NBA would least want to play for.

In an episode of the Run It Back podcast, Chandler Parsons spoke about the injury struggles that the New York Knicks are going through. Initially, the former NBA player revealed that the Boston Celtics would hope to meet the shorthanded Knicks as their Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

Four of their best players are literally out… If I’m the Boston Celtics, I am hoping the Knicks somehow pull the series, that would be a much easier series for them.

Per Parsons, the season-ending injuries suffered by many of his players are one of the biggest reasons for the players’ poll suggesting that Tom Thibodeau would be the coach that players would least like to play for.

“There’s just an obvious, glaring huge minutes being played. It’s hard not to look at that, right? This is why that players’ poll came out with guys don’t want to play for him because it doesn’t last. You can’t sustain in such a long season,” Parson referenced The Athletic’s anonymous player poll.

Despite injuries being the biggest reason behind the Knicks’ potential elimination from the playoffs, Chandler Parsons doesn’t believe that Thibodeau will be made the “fall guy”. Even though there has been evidence of poor management of the roster, the New York side will not sack their coach, according to the analyst. Instead, the front office will hope for coach Thibs to learn from the mistakes.

“Is he gonna be a fall guy? Are they gonna fall out? No. I think they think ‘alright, let’s try and maybe manage this little bit better next year. Let’s use our bench little bit better, let’s sign some guys that we trust’… He’s not gonna lose his job, he’s gonna have a great team going in next year. It’s just they have to stay healthy,” Parsons concluded.

There is no doubt that a healthy New York Knicks side would’ve been the favorites to overcome the Indiana Pacers. However, the odds now tilt towards Tyrese Haliburton and Co.

Due to the injuries, the Knicks have been forced to use a 7-man primary rotation. The trio of Brunson-Hart-DiVincenzo are visibly exhausted, averaging a combined 39.3 minutes per game (per ESPN). So, it’ll be interesting to see just how much the depleted Knicks have left in their tank.

Lou Williams also implies that Tom Thibodeau is responsible for the injuries

Lou Williams has suffered his fair share of injuries over a lengthy 17-year career. So, it is easy for him to identify that the injuries suffered by the players of the New York Knicks are due to the extended minutes that they’ve been instructed to play.

“You got guys dropping like flies, you can’t afford to play these guys so many minutes…Look at style of injury that these guys are dealing with, they’re dealing with injuries from playing too many minutes,” Williams said.

While Chandler Parsons denied pinning the blame of the loss on the head coach, the three-time Sixth Man of the Year wasn’t as lenient. Even though Lou-Will didn’t believe that Thibodeau would lose out on his job, he did claim that the 66-year-old was to be held responsible.

Overall, the New York Knicks had a great regular season, finishing with an impressive 50-32 record, their best since 2012-2013. Unfortunately for Thibodeau, instead of getting credit for the positives of this campaign, he will likely be remembered for the unorganized minutes management in the postseason.