ALL FOR THE BEST
YOU listen to Tom Thibodeau long enough, as I have, and you wonder if there’s ever a moment he sits down to enjoy an accomplishment. Heck, even God rested on the seventh day.
But relaxation is difficult when, as the coach often repeats from his Book of Thibsisms, “Everything is a concern.”
So right after the Knicks blew out the defending champions Thursday night for their fifth straight win — really annihilated the Nuggets, by the way — Thibodeau was already worried about overlooking some underdog opponent down the road. “I know for you guys, that’s something [that we beat the defending champs],” he said in his postgame presser, adding later, “You let up just a little bit, everyone tends to look at a schedule like, ‘You should win this game.’ No, there’s no, ‘You should win.’ You have to earn your wins. You can’t overlook anybody. The challenge is to continue to build and not feel good about yourself.” Therapists might disagree and that sounds like a miserable existence. But it works in the NBA as long as the players are buying in. And for 3 ½ seasons — the longesttenured head coach on a Knicks sideline since Mike D’Antoni — Thibodeau has pushed enough of the right buttons to maintain the roster’s attention and his employment in the most volatile of job positions.
It helps, of course, when the unofficial captain, Jalen Brunson, is like-minded in focus. Thibodeau could’ve only asked for a better and more compatible leader if Taj Gibson suddenly grew superstar skills. But it’s gone beyond the dogged effort and preparation that has defined Thibodeau’s career. The Knicks are trying hard but they’re more than just tryhards. They’re the product of development and a plug-andplay system that has maximized performances up and down the roster. Almost seven weeks ago we were wondering if New York’s defense would crater without Mitchell Robinson. It didn’t. Then we were wondering if Isaiah Hartenstein’s