The Eastern Conference Semis was supposed to be a cakewalk for the New York Knicks. After starting the series with two straight wins at the Garden, confidence was high that the Knicks would be able to plow through the Indiana Pacers and prepare for the Boston Celtics.
However, things don’t work like that in the NBA. The Pacers made the most out of their homecourt to even the series. Game 4 was excruciatingly painful for Knicks fans as Tyrese Haliburton and company dumped 121 points on the entire roster.
There are multiple narratives on why the Knicks blew the series lead. One of the most prevalent storylines is Jalen Brunson’s injury. While the guard insists that there’s nothing wrong with his body, fans are constantly worried that their star player may just break down at any given moment.
![New York Knicks Fans Rip Tom Thibodeau for Terrible Decision Regarding His Starters After Game 4 Loss 1 New York Knicks, Jalen Brunson](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_23174215-scaled.jpg)
Fans are more recently zeroing in on Tom Thibodeau’s philosophy, though. The coach is famous for putting his key players under strenuous minutes, which affects their quality of play.
Some believe that such a Spartan approach to rotation is doing more harm than good, and they’re letting their feelings known on social media.
New York Knicks fans criticize Tom Thibodeau’s decision to keep key players in during a losing game
![New York Knicks Fans Rip Tom Thibodeau for Terrible Decision Regarding His Starters After Game 4 Loss 2 USATSI 22043453 168400517 lowres](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/USATSI_22043453_168400517_lowres.jpg)
The Knicks came into Game 4 a couple of players down, with OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson being the most notable absences.
In response to this, Thibodeau did spread out the minutes among his players. Brunson only played for 31 minutes to protect him. Josh Hart, who played every minute of Game 2, was limited to 24.
However, the team was handily beaten by the third quarter, and it didn’t seem they were going to bounce back in any shape or form.
While some coaches may have pulled out all of his starters by then to give them some much-needed rest, Thibs stuck to his guns and kept his starters in for longer than necessary. This decision induced the ire of Knicks fans.
“Thibodeau should pull starters,” Matt Thomas tweeted. “This one is long over.”
“If Thibodeau doesn’t sit his starters for the 4th Q., he needs his head checked,” another person claimed.
“It is reckless and apathetic if Thibodeau doesn’t pull the starters for the rest of this game and gives them a breather heading back to NY. This game isn’t salvageable so suck up your ego and bring your bench before more players get unnecessarily hurt,” another warned.
“The New York knicks starters has a officially ran out of gas lol Tom Thibodeau should be fired for running them boys to the ground.”
Tom Thibodeau has long been known to run his players to the ground, be it the regular season or the playoffs. This was present during his stint with the Chicago Bulls, where a young Derrick Rose suffered multiple injuries that robbed fans of an incredible peak.
![New York Knicks Fans Rip Tom Thibodeau for Terrible Decision Regarding His Starters After Game 4 Loss 3 Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/derrick-rose-chicago-bulls-jersey.jpg)
Credit: Getty Images
While D-Rose cleared Thibs of any responsibility, conversations around his rotation tactics are still being discussed to this day.
If the New York Knicks squander another deep playoff run due to injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the franchise’s top brass to either give Thibs the ultimatum on minutes restriction or show him the door.
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