Tom Thibodeau offended by claims he mistreated Kemba Walker

Sources have indicated Thibodeau has been most offended by claims he mistreated Walker, who eventually shut it down at the All-Star break, and accusations he’s stunted Toppin’s growth because of a lack of playing time. Thibodeau’s reference that a player could make one brilliant play and nine bad ones could be a reference to Toppin, who hears “O-bi’’ chants after one showboat dunk. “I’m just saying, everyone has all the answers right after a game and often times, they haven’t studied,’’ Thibodeau said. “And I don’t want anything to divide our team. I want our team together. That’s how you win — as a team. You lose as a team.
Source: Marc Berman @ New York Post

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Peter Vecsey @PeterVecsey1
Kemba Walker – 7:49 PM

Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Knicks listing Julius Randle (quad) and Mitchell Robinson (back) as questionable for Friday in Miami. Out for New York are Nerlens Noel (foot), Cam Reddish (shoulder), Derrick Rose (ankle), Kemba Walker (not with team), Feron Hunt (G League). Heat injury report not yet released. – 2:33 PM

More on this storyline

But New York is no closer to getting the franchise-changing star — or stars — needed to compete for an NBA title. “The Knicks have done a lot of things fine, and I like a lot of their young players,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “But some of their veteran signings have not been great. I don’t know that they’ve constructed a coherent direction.” -via ESPN / March 2, 2022

But overall, it’s a mix that has worn some of the luster off any potential future package for an available star. “If they are going to give up their picks and swaps to get someone, it doesn’t matter who they are trading,” a Western Conference executive said. “But if their hope was to turn these guys into good players by themselves, I’d be hard-pressed to see a team thinking they’ll take that for a star.” -via ESPN / March 2, 2022

The Knicks’ fourth-quarter struggles reared their ugly head again Sunday against the 76ers, when they entered the final 12 minutes trailing by two points before losing 125-109. Tom Thibodeau’s crew even led early in the fourth quarter and then was down 106-105 with seven minutes left, only to muster just four points the rest of the way.  “Our togetherness down the stretch is not good enough,” guard Evan Fournier said after the loss. “By togetherness I mean we are not tied together enough. Down the stretch, like I said, we have no confidence, so we are second-guessing at times. It should be second nature — boom, boom, boom, this is what we’re doing. As long as we are not doing that, it’s going to be hard to close out games against teams that are good.  “It keeps happening and that’s what’s so frustrating.” -via New York Post / March 1, 2022