Anyone who lives and dies with the Knicks can remember Amar’e Stoudemire smiling his new $ 100 million smile and proclaiming, “The Knicks are back.”
The Knicks weren’t there then, and eleven years later, they haven’t been back.
But after so many quick breaks to break the heart over the years, after Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson and the triangle offense, after David Fizdale, after the shutdown of Kristaps Porzingis, Tom Thibodeau has called time out for misery and on the eve of the All-Star break, Knicks fans this time don’t feel relieved that the season is half over.
They can believe again.
His Knicks, 114-104 Pistons winners, are back. His Knicks are between 19 and 18 years old, the last of which have gone from .500 in eight years. His Knicks are back to being a team.
“Something good seems to be happening,” Julius Randle wrote in Players ’Tribune.
Something good happens when a star coach like Thibodeau arrives and gets his star player to buy and everyone to follow him.
The versatile and tireless Randle (27 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists) is the first Knicks All-Star from Porzingis and Thibodeau’s first locker room lieutenant. “MVP,” the mini-garden crowd sang during and after the match.
Randle has grown to love New York and New York has loved him.
“He’s a great worker and sets a great example to the team,” Thibodeau said, “and the impact on winning has been huge. It’s not his individual stats, it’s what he does for the team and that’s contagion “.
Something good happens when Barrett (21 points), a rising star in his sophomore year, is a threat from downtown when he’s not going down to the hoop and has regained the bragging he showed Duke.
“His preparation is giving him a lot of confidence,” Thibodeau said.
Something good happened when Elfrid Payton (20 points), back from a hamstring hamstring that cost him four games, was the best goalkeeper on the pitch, even if Frank Ntilikina punched three 3s in the second quarter.
Thibodeau is the best thing that has ever happened.
Best Knicks coach since Jeff Van Gundy.
Tom Terrific.
“Culture is how you do everything,” Thibodeau said. “It’s not something in particular, it’s how you do everything.”
Thibodeau may not turn the Knicks into heavyweight competitors overnight, but the signs of growing professionalism and a commitment to D-FENSE are unmistakable.
“We seem to have a collective purpose,” Randle wrote.
And a hunger. “We’re not at all satisfied,” Barrett said.
Thibodeau has convinced players who had been called to look for a leader and a teacher that the right to win must be earned. He loves to train these players. They like to get better together one day at a time.
“I think we’re all committed,” Barrett said. “We all have our mindset on the same goal and we all work to achieve that.”
The Knicks are no longer laughing.
“We’re flipping the script on the reputation of our entire franchise,” Randle wrote.
The legendary Marv Albert, son of Brooklyn and Basketball No. 1 in Manhattan Beach, was the voice of the Knicks when they won their NBA championships in 1970 and ’73. Red Holzman’s Willis Reed-Clyde Frazier teams remain the gold standard. That’s when Knicks fans try to scratch a 48-year-old itch.
“They appreciate the good defense and they appreciate the good pass,” Albert said. “That era was so popular because of the way they swung the ball, which is what Golden State did during their championship years. Steve Kerr believed in it, and he did it too. [Spurs coach Gregg] Popovich. Those Knick teams were very smart. Basically, Red had five coaches on the ground.
The Pat Riley-Van Gundy Knicks were also smart, but their identity was toughness and tenacity.
“This is also appreciated by Knick fans,” Albert said. “It’s funny, if another team enters the garden and hits the Knicks, the fans complain. But when the Knicks did [Anthony] Mason i [Charles] Oakley and that group would only kill boys (the game was so different) and of course he was applauded.
Mike Woodson is the last Knicks coach to win a playoff game. Thibodeau will be next. Maybe it won’t happen this season. The timing of the second half is brutal.
“There are some good things we’ve done, obviously some things we need to improve,” Thibodeau said.
Of course there are. Never forget, man is not happy unless he is miserable.
“The challenge will be big,” Thibodeau said, “so you should get the best out of us, but don’t change our approach, focus on improving every day.”
When Leon Rose and World Wide Wes and Scott Perry get more horses, there are many reasons to believe that Thibodeau will lead them to the water and make them drink. Our Marc Berman asked him what he would do during the break and Thibodeau exploded, “Turks and Caicos.” Even there, without a team to train with, I wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t miserable.