Tom Thibodeau still gave fans something to complain about on Friday as the New York Knicks punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks thrashed the Boston Celtics in a series-clinching Game 6 win in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. After going back and forth early in the contest, the Knicks blew the game wide open early in the second quarter and did not let up the rest of the way en route to a 119-81 win.
New York led by as many as 41 points and held a 92-57 advantage entering the fourth quarter. No team has ever come back from a 30-point deficit in NBA playoff history. However, Thibodeau was not taking any chances.
The Knicks head coach left starters Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart on the floor to start the final period. He eventually brought Brunson and Hart out at the 8:22 mark, but brought in fellow starters Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby to replace them. New York was up by 36 at that point.
Thibs still has the starters in 💀 pic.twitter.com/cVIww6uSqt
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) May 17, 2025
It took nearly eight minutes of fourth-quarter action before Thibs trotted out a full bench unit. Knicks fans were not happy about it one bit. Several of them voiced their frustrations online.
if the starters are still in the game after this commercial break we gotta file a class action lawsuit against thibs
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) May 17, 2025
Thibs I’m begging you to give these guys some rest 😂 pic.twitter.com/xXrq3GjJKx
— Paul Kilgallen (@PKilgallen) May 17, 2025
All Knicks fans watching thibs now pic.twitter.com/WIaBssPd6U
— Chris Reilly (@C_Reilly5) May 17, 2025
Some Chicago Bulls fans flashed back to Thibodeau similarly leaving his starters in too long when he coached the team in 2012. The decision infamously led to Derrick Rose’s first major knee injury in the Bulls’ first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Watching Thibs play his starters up big late in a playoff game pic.twitter.com/cvF1R2IZm7
— Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) May 17, 2025
Thibodeau has developed a reputation for putting a huge burden on his stars and key rotation players. Some even blamed him for the injuries that piled up during the Knicks’ playoff run last season. But his Knicks players have stood by him, as evidenced by Brunson’s passionate defense of Thibs last May.
Agree with Thibodeau’s methods or not, the veteran coach has New York playing in its first conference finals in over two decades.