Regardless of how unpreventable injuries are, when a team walks towards their exit in the postseason, the head coach is flamed for disappointment. Sure, superstars tend to underperform, but the coach can control the minutes of role players and adjust to what they believe will work. They ultimately have the highest say on the hardwood, so it makes sense why their jobs are the most unstable.
Furthermore, the New York Knicks waited a small amount of time after being bounced in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Indiana Pacers before deciding the verdict on Tom Thibodeau. They realized he was not in their near future and chose to part ways by letting him go.
This news is shocking, yet not entirely surprising, as he is a phenomenal decision-maker with flaws, like several around the league. Countless coaching gigs have not lasted a sufficient amount of time, and Thibodeau's with the Knicks was from 2020 until today.
Moreover, the concept of him being a great coach with weaknesses sounds oddly familiar to those who have seen Tyronn Lue steering the LA Clippers.
However, the Clippers' front office is proving that they are different from the executives in New York, and this is the opposite of how they should be, as Lue has had less overall success than Thibodeau in the last three seasons.
Tyronn Lue should receive the same treatment Tom Thibodeau saw with the Knicks
In three consecutive seasons, head coach Tyronn Lue has won 145 regular season games. This is phenomenal, but what does not add up is that he has been left jaw-dropped in the first round each time.
Though Kawhi Leonard's injuries have taken a fair toll on Lue's strategic planning, that excuse only goes so far when the same sequence is repeated. Additionally, their recent loss to the Denver Nuggets invalidated the availability justification as the LA Clippers were healthy.
Tom Thibodeau, in the last three seasons, has gone to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs all three times and advanced this season to the semi-finals. This holds value in the next team that decides to hire him.
Given that Thibodeau has done better in the postseason, what differentiates the New York Knicks from the Clippers is that they demonstrated their seriousness in contention. They could have held on to the wins, but instead, New York put the past behind them and prioritized the future.
The Clippers are handling their situation the other way around, as they favor Lue with the injury-bug rationale. Hence, he has not been fired, even after consistent playoff failures.