“In important corners of the organization, there is a disappointment and an urge to get to The Finals and win a championship,” Begley said during the weekend. “That’s how they’re viewing this postmortem with this club. Tom Thibodeau, from a 30,000-foot view obviously deserves to be back.”
He then added, unknowing that it would be the tactician’s last days with the Knicks. “He coached the team to an Eastern Conference Finals…everything points to Thibodeau being back. But given this evaluation period, to me it’s a question mark until we hear otherwise,” Ian shared.
Even though the Manhattan club earned the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference this season with a 51-31 mark, they remain convinced they deserve more. Nevertheless, they did outlast the Pistons in the first round, and then upset the reigning champion Celtics in the semifinal stage.
Their most recent playoff run was the farthest they’ve advanced in the playoffs since the 1999-00, back when Patrick Ewing led the charge. Let’s recall they shook up last season’s roster despite a successful campaign, so we believe anything can happen in their hopes of reaching the NBA Finals.