Tom Thibodeau’s frustration boils over in postgame presser

Tom Thibodeau was not happy with the Knicks after their loss to the Bucks on Wednesday

Not many people would characterize Tom Thibodeau as a happy-go-lucky guy. He wasn’t in the best of moods after the New York Knicks dropped another home game, this time to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Thibs ended up benching the starters in the fourth quarter as the bench tried to come back from down 24 points. Despite a Herculean effort, the bench’s comeback fell short. Thibodeau expressed his frustration with the starters in his postgame press conference.

Tom Thibodeau on the notion the Knicks' starters need at least 20 games to gel:

"When you get to 20, you say 30. And you get to 30, you say 40. And then before you know it, the season's over. So it's a bunch of bulls**t" pic.twitter.com/5xFXmg3t7H

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) November 11, 2021

“You know what they say,” Thibs began. “When it’s 10 games, you say you need 20. When you get to 20, you say 30. And then once you get to 30, they say 40. And then before you know it, the season is over. So it’s a bunch of bullshit.”

That is Thibs after a loss, in a nutshell.

His frustration is understandable. The Knicks, and more specifically the starters, have been inconsistent to start the season. They will have a game or two where they look like world-beaters followed up by a lackluster effort devoid of any energy.

Even though it didn’t result in a win, the bench was a godsend on Wednesday, outscoring the starters 68-32.

It’s rare to see Thibs go away from his starters completely. At times, he’ll opt to keep Derrick Rose or Alec Burks in during crunch time, but he is not one to make wholesale changes to his closing unit.

The Knicks are on the road to play the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. That might be a good thing considering the fact that the Knicks are 5-1 on the road this year.