Tom Thibodeau likes to maintain the give attention to basketball. Do what it takes to win each single day is one in all his favourite phrases. Give the sport every thing you’ve received is one other, and attempt to get higher every day is a 3rd.
Thibodeau has performed all three since taking up as head coach at Madison Sq. Backyard in 2021. Now he finds himself able to overtake a legend on the Knicks’ all-time franchise leaderboard.
The Knicks defeated the depleted Philadelphia 76ers, 105-91, at The Backyard on Tuesday marking victory No. 223 for Thibodeau since assuming the accountability of turning round a New York franchise mired in a seven-year postseason drought.
The victory tied him with franchise teaching legend Pat Riley, who owns the fourth-most victories in Knicks historical past. Purple Holzman’s long-standing file of 613 wins amassed in 1,096 video games of Knicks playoff rivalry between 1968-1982 appears uncatchable. Joe Lapchick’s mark of 326 wins between 1948-56 ranks second, and Jeff Van Gundy sits third with 248 victories in a seven-year span.
“I think all that stuff, it’s a byproduct of having great players. You share that with your team,” mentioned Thibodeau. “So all the individual stuff, it’s really not that important. Obviously have great respect for Pat Riley and certainly Jeff for what they’ve done in their careers but the history of the franchise, great coaches, great players, organizationally – what it represents – it’s an honor to be here.”
To get to victory No. 224 and tie Riley, Thibodeau needed to get previous a ghost of seasons previous: former Knicks guard Quentin Grimes.
The Knicks chosen Grimes with the twenty fifth choose within the 2021 NBA Draft, however three seasons into his rookie deal, the three-and-D grew pissed off along with his function, continuously off the ball as a floor-spacer and perimeter defender. The Knicks went on to commerce their prospect to the Detroit Pistons as a part of the Bojan Bodanovic-Alec Burks deal final season.
Grimes has been a frequent flyer ever since. The Pistons circled and traded him to the Dallas Mavericks as a part of the Tim Hardaway Jr. commerce in the course of the offseason. Then the Mavericks moved on from Grimes and despatched him to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin forward on the Feb. 6 NBA Commerce Deadline.
However the 76ers received greater than they bargained for. With Martin’s constant harm historical past, Philadelphia merely anticipated Grimes to be a rotation participant able to enjoying minutes on a Sixers group lacking every of its franchise cornerstones (Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey) plus the big share of their regular rotation (Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Jared McCain).
On a group in want of offense, Grimes answered the bell as a prime scorer within the month of March, tying Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards for eleventh in scoring at 26.6 factors per recreation.
Which brings us to Grimes’ return to The Backyard on Tuesday, his second time again on his previous stomping grounds because the deal shuttled him out final February. The previous Knicks guard had already put up a dud in a Feb. 26 matchup at MSG, scoring simply three factors on 1-of-4 capturing in a five-point Sixers loss.
Plus he cooled off within the two video games previous to Tuesday’s matchup in opposition to the Knicks with 22 factors on simply 6-of-16 capturing in a loss to the league-worst Washington Wizards on Wednesday, adopted by 15 factors on 6-of-14 capturing within the Sixers’ Friday loss to the Miami Warmth.
Grimes scored in bunches in opposition to the Knicks on Tuesday and completed with a team-high 26 factors on 8-of-18 capturing from the sector, 1-of-6 capturing from the three-point line and 9-of-10 from the foul line. On one possession, he intercepted an errant move from Knicks ahead Valuable Achiuwa, scored on a straightforward quick break dunk, then had some phrases for the Knicks teaching workers on his means again up the ground on the defensive finish.
“He’s had great moments in the league. He’s playing, he’s got great rhythm,” Thibodeau mentioned of Grimes forward of tipoff on Tuesday. “He can shoot the ball, he can put it on the floor, he’s dangerous in transition. He’s making good plays off the dribble, defensively, he’s terrific. Very dangerous player in the open floor.”
“The biggest thing is he’s on the court all the time. We’re in a situation where he’s playing about as much as he can handle, you know, like, probably sometimes you go over that point sometimes,” added 76ers head coach Nick Nurse. “Then obviously, lots of opportunity on the offensive end to just kind of go do what he can do.”
“Been super impressed with just his one on one, the ability to get clearance, get shots, and get space,” the coach continued. “And also mix in some high-efficiency — like he’ll get all the way to the rim. He’ll dunk on you. He’ll just shoot the threes. He’ll create his own shot, pretty good. So I’ve been pretty impressed with that.”
The Knicks weren’t solely with out their three level guards on Tuesday. Karl-Anthony Cities (left knee soreness) joined Jalen Brunson (proper ankle sprain), Miles McBride (groin pressure) and Cameron Payne (ankle) on the Knicks’ harm report.
In Cities’ absence, Mitchell Robinson received the beginning on his twenty seventh birthday and completed with 14 factors, 14 rebounds and two blocks in opposition to the 76ers, the most efficient stat line he’s had since his return from offseason ankle surgical procedure.
“I feel great. All the hard work I put in to get back to the team. It felt good to be back,” he mentioned in his walk-off interview. “The work’s not done yet. Still got a lot of work to keep going but I’m gonna take it day by day.”
OG Anunoby completed with a game-high 27 factors in opposition to Nurse, his former head coach throughout his time with the Toronto Raptors. Landry Shamet added a season-high 20 factors on six-of-nine capturing from three-point vary off the bench, and Delon Wright, beginning rather than Brunson, McBride and Payne, completed with 12 factors and three steals on the night time.
Tuesday’s victory was the primary leg of a back-to-back, one in all three units of back-to-backs over New York’s ultimate eight video games.
Subsequent up, the Knicks journey to Cleveland to face the East’s No. 1-seeded Cavaliers. Each Robinson, who’s coming off of a 10-month layoff after offseason surgical procedure, and Cities (left knee) have unsure statuses for the matchup.
