Tom Thibodeau is Doing the Impossible. Again

The New York Knicks are frauds. They only got to the 4th seed in the east this year because the Heat, Pacers, Celtics, Hornets, and Raptors were rocked by injuries and Covid-related absences (the Raptors couldn’t even go home!). The Knickerbockers blew Game 1 to the Hawks and were in a double-digit hole at halftime of Game 2. Hawks center Clint Capela put the clamps on Julius Randle, and nobody outside Derrick Rose could do anything offensively for New York. Another half of this and the Knicks’ first playoff appearance in 8 years was going to edge dangerously closer to ending in a sweep.

It’s amazing how much can change in a half of basketball. The Knicks miraculously turned it around in the 3rd quarter, using their stifling defense to snuff out the Hawks and pull out a 101-92 victory to tie their series at 1-1.

At one point, Atlanta had missed 16 straight field goals before a Kevin Huerter 3 pointer in the middle of the 4th quarter. Trae Young put up an efficient 30 points on 11/20 shooting to go with 7 assists, but it wasn’t enough. John Collins, Clint Capela, and Danilo Gallinari combined 10 points and 11 boards on 5/22 shooting. The team as a whole shot 37% for the game and 28% from 3. It was a defensive masterclass from the Knicks and another feather in head coach and defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau’s cap.

The win was the Knicks’ first playoff victory since 2013. Thibs has now won playoff games for the Bulls, Timberwolves, and Knicks, three of the worst run franchises in the NBA over the last 20 years. He’s helped turn Julius Randle, recently crowned the NBA’s Most Improved Player, into one of the most productive players in the league.

There were times last year where the Randle signing — an about-face for a franchise that thought they’d sign 2 of Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, or Kamba Walker - looked like a dud. Now he’s not only at the center of the Knicks’ success on offense, but he’s one of the better defensive players too, ending the regular season 6th in defensive win shares and 3rd in defensive plus-minus. Randle didn’t make the top 3 of the NBA MVP ballot, but he will almost certainly make an All-NBA Team for his exploits this season (if his averages 24, 10, and 6 does not warrant at least 2nd team All-NBA, Knicks fans should riot).

When Thibs gets buy-in from the team’s top player, there is a trickle-down effect on the rest of the squad. We saw it in Chicago with Derrick Rose and again in Minnesota with Jimmy Butler. Randle’s buy-in and subsequent success appear to have cascaded down to the team’s other former lottery picks like Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, and the aforementioned Rose, who led the Knicks in scoring with 26 Wednesday night.

Additionally, Thibs has made the Immanuel Quickley selection, a move that looked puzzling at the time, work out very well so far. If he can get more out of Obi Toppin (Still think they should’ve grabbed Tyrese Halliburton) and kickstart the reclamation projects for Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina next season, the Knicks may actually be for real.

But that’s next year. Right now, the Knicks are proving that they are not frauds or products of a flukey season. Last night’s triumph over the Hawks was a punch in the mouth, and they responded admirably. The Knicks of old would’ve wilted, and the Garden would’ve been filled with boos and jeers from disappointed fans. Now they fight until the end and have given their fans hope.

This series with the Hawks will probably go 6-7 games and set up a date with the Sixers in the next round. Who knows, maybe we actually will get to see a Subway Series between the Knicks and Nets. None of this was expected but it’s now possible, thanks largely to the excellent coaching job Thibs has done this year.