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Using forceful and colorful language, Donte DiVincenzo said the reputation of Tom Thibodeau as somebody who wears down players — which was reinforced in a player poll released Monday – is bogus.
“Buls–t, that’s all I have to say,” DiVincenzo said. “A lot of guys don’t play for Thibs. I play for Thibs. On the outside, looking in you have a certain viewpoint. When you are inside and play for Thibs, like I said, it’s bulls–t.”
For a third straight year the Knicks coach “won” The Athletic’s player poll in the category of “coach I’d least like to play for.”
He blew away the competition this time by garnering 46.8% of the 77 votes, well below the 9.1% for the second-place coach, Doc Rivers.
Monty Williams (6.5%), Darvin Ham (5.2%) Nick Nurse (5.2%) and Gregg Popovich (5.2%) all got at least four votes. Thibodeau had 36.
“I’m too old for those practices,” one anonymous player told The Athletic.
“He’s playing every one 48 minutes,” another said.
DiVincenzo, who previously played for the Bucks, Warriors and Kings, said he quickly realigned his perception of Thibodeau after joining the Knicks in the summer.
“You don’t know him. You don’t know how the organization runs. You don’t know how the practices run. you don’t know anything,” DiVincenzo said. “You see honestly on the sideline how he acts. To us that’s dedication. That’s how much love and dedication he gives to us every day. Like I said, that poll is bulls–t and inaccurate.”
Josh Hart chimed in on Instagram, too.
“Man these dudes soft,” Hart wrote in the comments section of a post about the story.
As DiVincenzo alluded to, Thibodeau is gruff and loud during the games on the sidelines – perhaps contributing to the perception that he’s cold.
But the reputation for overworking his players goes back to his first head coaching job with the Bulls, when his starters – specifically Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler – were at or near the top of minutes per game every season.
A few of those Bulls players – Deng, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose – broke down physically.
However, that narrative doesn’t jibe much with today’s reality. The highest-ranked Knicks in minutes per game this season was 15th in the NBA (Julius Randle at 35.4 per game). Josh Hart led the league in minutes after the All-Star break but finished 50th per game because he came off the bench early in the campaign.
In total minutes, Jalen Brunson is the top Knick and 10th in the NBA.
“If you are a player, you want to play as much as you can. So I don’t get the other players who voted against Thibs or whatever,” said Bojan Bogdanovic, a veteran who joined the Knicks midseason.
“He’s straight up. Whoever is giving him great minutes is going to be on the court. (Miles McBride) played great (in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Sixers), so he was the guy finishing the game. So if you contribute, you’re going to be on the court. That’s what it is.”
Thibodeau tried to shrug it off when reminded of his rep.
“Everyone gets put in a box. That’s the way it works,” the coach said earlier this month. “So the people who have never done this — people have opinions but you don’t listen to those opinions.
“I think you have to figure out what’s best for your team, what gives you the best chance to win. And then if you have guys who can handle that, that’s what they should get.”
Erik Spoelstra, the Heat coach, was the top vote-getter in the category for coach players most wanted to play for.
