After the Minnesota Timberwolves' 118-108 home victory over the New York Knicks last night, Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau commented on the Knicks' defense.
Via The New York Post's Marc Berman:
Kind words on Knicks from defensive guru Tom Thibodeau, who never got a Phil dinner “Their defense is vastly improved, great length. Their rebounding is terrific. In my eyes, they have a very dangerous team.’’
— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) January 12, 2018
While the Knicks' defense looks certainly better than last season, it is a bit ironic that coach Thibs praised the Knicks for their defense the same night his team scored 118 points on them. New York allowed a 51.6 percent field goal percentage, a 37 percent 3-point shooting percentage, got outrebounded by seven, stole the ball six times, blocked six of the Wolves' shots, and lost the game. While these numbers are not too bad, one certainly does not expect an elite defensive coach to praise a middle of the pack team.
Give the Knicks credit though, as Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter anchor a much-improved defense when compared to last year's. Carmelo Anthony got to such a frustration point he apparently refused to play any defense whatsoever, and the Knicks' only true defensive presence was the 7-foot-3 Porzingis. This season, the Knicks rank 4th in opponent field goal percentage, 3rd in opponent defensive rebounding, and 15th in defensive rating, per Basketball-Reference. Thibodeau does have a point when he says their defense has improved.
Thibodeau is known as a defensive specialist himself, gaining a reputation in his past coaching jobs as one of the elite defensive-minded coaches in the league. Those stops included an assistant coaching position in the Celtics' last championship roster that included Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. He was then hired to coach the Derrick-Rose led Chicago Bulls, who were usually atop the league in most defensive metrics and yielded a Defensive Player of the Year in Joakim Noah.
Even more ironic is how Thibodeau is known as a defensive specialist but his Wolves are nothing close to that. Much of their defensive holes were exposed during the first part of the season, but since the new calendar year they have looked a bit better on defense.
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