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.
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
