Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau shows he’s more flexible than you think

 INDIANAPOLIS

Tom Thibodeau is a dinosaur who likes to stick with what he knows. He is dial-up internet in a fiber-optic world. He is about as flexible as that dude everyone feels sorry for in the back of the yoga class.

This has long been the general perception of the Knicks’ coach. So much so that when the Knicks fell behind the Pacers by 20 points in the second quarter in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night, social media was awash in posts demanding that the Knicks fire their coach despite the fact that he had taken the team further in the playoffs than it had gone in 25 years.

Even Kenny Smith got in on the action during TNT’s halftime show with this zinger: “Thibodeau wouldn’t play nine guys in a baseball game.”

Well, surprise, surprise.

With the Knicks’ season and possibly his own job on the line, Thibodeau was the most innovative coach in the building Sunday.

He not only changed his starting lineup for the first time this season but went nine deep in his rotation, giving major minutes to seldom-used role players Landry Shamet and Delon Wright when his starters were in foul trouble. Both were on the court for the final part of the third quarter and the start of the fourth when the Knicks cut a 13-point deficit to three.

As a result, the Knicks charged back to get their first win of the series and can even things up in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

In a Zoom call with reporters on Monday, Jalen Brunson said it’s time to change the perception that Thibodeau is set in his ways.

“Yeah, absolutely, it’s definitely unfair,” Brunson said. “People are entitled to say and think what they want. For the most part, as a team, as an organization, there’s always going to be a lot of noise, positive or negative. So it’s all about what we think and what we do. All about the work we put in day in and day out. And trusting obviously our journey. So regardless of what people say, we’re going to have each other’s backs.”

It’s not the first time in the playoffs that Thibodeau has surprised a team by doing something uncharacteristic. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston, he orchestrated a stunning overtime upset of a team that was a nine-point favorite when he deployed a defensive scheme the Knicks rarely had used in the regular season. It confused the Celtics’ shooters and forced them more into isolation plays.

The Knicks built on that win and stunned the defending champions in six games. Now they are hoping they can build on this win and ultimately give Thibodeau his first trip to the NBA Finals.

That’s right. This is only the second time he has been to the Eastern Conference finals since he was a rookie coach with the Chicago Bulls in 2011. It’s taken 14 years and three different coaching jobs for Thibodeau to get back here. That’s how rare this opportunity is, which may be why he doesn’t seem to want to talk about how important it would be for him to win the series.

“I try not to get wrapped up in anything that’s personal,” he said Monday. “I think everything is team-oriented. And so, when you’re with a team, you wanna maximize all the opportunities that you do get and you wanna try to get the most out of your group . . . You enjoy the challenge of it all.”

Does a coach need to win an NBA title to be a great coach? I would argue not, though you can bet Thibodeau would love to take on the challenge of getting to the next level and playing for one.

Brunson, who has known Thibodeau since he was a toddler, was asked what he thought it would mean for his coach to get to his first NBA Finals.

“We haven’t really talked about it. But now that you ask that question — watching this man work tirelessly day in and day out, 364 days out of the year, he maybe takes one day off, it would mean a lot,” Brunson said. “But I know he’s not thinking about that. I know he’s not thinking about what it would mean for him. He’s just thinking about what we can do better in Game 4.”

Thinking and reaching deep into that bag of innovative tricks to keep both him and the team alive.