While his Knicks were disappointing and we thought he was in the hot seat, Tom Thibodeau closed the door on all his detractors! With eight straight wins, the teammates of Julius Randle are the team in form at the moment. It’s the best running streak in the NBA, and tonight, symbolically, the Knicks swept the reigning NBA champion Warriors. Even better, it was in front of their home crowd, and the way is there with enthusiasm on both sides of the pitch.
“I like our team, I like the way we train, the way we prepare” reacts Tom Thibodeau. “But we must know that if it continues, we must not blow. Every day, we have to improve and find how to do better. »
With Jalen Brunson, Thibodeau has found his relay in the field. Signed for some $100 million, Brunson had warned he was ready to take on a leadership role, and he’s leading the way. “We knew it straight away” confirms the Knicks coach about the leadership of his playmaker.
Thibodeau is so serene, he sat down in the 4th quarter of the game against the Warriors. It may be a detail for you, but for the players it means a lot… ” That’s crazy “ laughs Julius Randle. “Obi told me. I had never seen Thib’s sit in three seasons. He looked so uncomfortable. He did not know what to do. »
“Nobody talks about the winning streak. It’s only December…”
Beyond the anecdote, it’s a sign that the whole team is relaxed, and that the coach’s message is getting through. We have repeatedly mentioned his choice to limit his rotation to nine players. It is clear that it works, and the nine who play have a blast.
“When you see something working, you just want to repeat it as much as possible” Randle continues. “For the moment, no one is talking about the winning streak. It’s only December… We’re just playing for each other right now, and we’re going through every necessary step. The road is still long and we can still progress a lot. »
Same speech at Brunson: “Nobody talks about the series… We tell each other to keep going, and we try to be the best team we can be, and we just focus on the present day”.
Moreover, Thibodeau reminds us that we should not rest on our laurels because the team is back-to-back with the reception of the Raptors. Nick Nurse’s players aren’t the best, but the biggest mistake would be to take them lightly.
“The next game will have nothing to do with this one” concludes Thibodeau. “You have to start all over again, and be ready to play. Our preparation is important. We must be aware of the physical qualities of Toronto, and the difficulty to come. You have to be ready to play 48 minutes, to do it together in attack and defense. If we skip a step, we will pay the price. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Julius Randle | 30 | 33.8 | 45.5 | 33.3 | 79.3 | 2.0 | 7.1 | 9.1 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 22.5 |
| Jalen Brunson | 30 | 32.0 | 46.9 | 37.3 | 89.3 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 6.2 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 20.8 |
| Rj Barrett | 30 | 34.4 | 41.6 | 30.1 | 76.8 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 19.4 |
| Immanuel Quickley | 30 | 23.7 | 38.5 | 29.7 | 84.4 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 9.6 |
| Cam Reddish | 20 | 21.9 | 44.9 | 30.4 | 87.9 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 8.4 |
| Quentin Grimes | 20 | 24.7 | 48.3 | 37.3 | 81.8 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 8.1 |
| Obi Toppin | 25 | 17.1 | 42.1 | 35.1 | 82.4 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 7.7 |
| Mitchell Robinson | 22 | 24.8 | 71.3 | 0.0 | 48.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 8.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.4 |
| Evan Fournier | 13 | 20.0 | 34.4 | 33.3 | 81.8 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 6.9 |
| Derrick Rose | 22 | 13.1 | 39.9 | 34.6 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 6.3 |
| Isaiah Hartenstein | 30 | 20.3 | 52.4 | 24.0 | 79.3 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 6.1 |
| jericho sims | 22 | 12.5 | 76.9 | 0.0 | 80.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 4.0 |
| Miles Mcbride | 18 | 10.8 | 37.0 | 24.2 | 55.6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 2.9 |
| Svi Mykhailiuk | 10 | 3.2 | 50.0 | 62.5 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Ryan Arcidiacono | 7 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Trevor Keels | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
