The New York Knicks’ defense has been a huge problem this season, and it was once again the story behind their embarrassing 90-121 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday. Despite Detroit missing a handful of rotation pieces and playing on the back end of a back-to-back, they torched the Knicks for the entire game.
Tom Thibodeau reposts tweet criticizing Knicks defense
It seems as though the lackluster defense has caught the attention of their former head coach, Tom Thibodeau. He reposted a tweet from myself that read, “It is absolutely stunning to me that a team that has OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, and Deuce McBride all play significant minutes can’t defend.”
Thibodeau would later remove the repost, so it is unclear if he did it intentionally or by mistake. Regardless, it could indicate some shade towards current coach Mike Brown, who has been under fire lately for the team’s lackluster effort defensively.
Thibodeau was the Knicks’ coach for five seasons before being fired after last season. He built a reputation for being a defensive-minded coach, but last year’s group fell short of accurately representing that label during last season with him at the helm.
Defense has been a recurring issue for the Knicks
The Knicks ranked just 13th in defensive rating during the regular season, and they had just the ninth-best in the postseason. The reality is that they were an underperforming defensive team despite the talent around Thibodeau.
The defense has become more problematic with Brown, and it may be time to wonder if it isn’t the coach causing those issues, but the players. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are poor defensive players, and given that those two are the leaders of the team, that could be a big part of the problem.
Nevertheless, it is clear that their current problems on defense are reaching the attention of those directly involved at one point.