‘Furious’ Stephen A. Smith and Others Question Tom Thibodeau’s Future After Costly Game 2 Mistakes

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has been making waves in the NBA community after his latest take on the Knicks' HC Tom Thibodeau.

‘Furious’ Stephen A. Smith and Others Question Tom Thibodeau’s Future After Costly Game 2 Mistakes

Stephen A. Smith and Tom Thibodeau (Image by FirstSportz)

Just days after winning Game 1 on Wednesday, the Indiana Pacers once again defeated the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the ECF Finals on Friday. After being swept in the series by the Boston Celtics a season ago, the Pacers are now leading the Eastern Conference finals 2-0 and are getting closer to making it to the NBA Finals. However, this has not gone down well with lifelong Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith.

Smith shared a video on social media right after the Knicks’ second consecutive defeat over the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, which opened up the Eastern Conference playoffs. According to Smith, Tom Thibodeau is primarily to blame because he failed to deliver a masterclass when his team needed it.

But I don’t understand for the life of me how in the hell Tom Thibodeau has KAT playing just 28 minutes. He’s gonna try to tell us it was defense! But with Mitchell Robinson on the court, the deficit increased. Jalen Brunson…that shot at the end of regulation? Don’t know what that was about. I don’t know what else to say. I mean…I do know what to say, but don’t want to. I don’t want to. I don’t know what Thibs was doing tonight. I have no clue! I have no idea! …Looks like we’re going home. Looks that way! Don’t know if it is that way!

Stephen A. Smith said

Smith, one of the most ferocious Knicks supporters in the world, has a platform that is only eclipsed by his personality, so it is reasonable that he would be upset with the outcome of his favorite basketball team’s first two series games. In addition, Smith was not the only person to call out the Knicks’ HC after their poor loss to the Pacers.

Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins also seemingly agreed with Smith’s take. Perkins took to X to slander Thibodeau and his tactics during the 4th quarter.

If or when the Pacers win this series… Thibs decision to bench Towns in the 4th is going to get him fired. I get it he wanted to get some defensive stops but it didn’t work.

Kendrick Perkins tweeted

This loss puts the Knicks in a very tight situation as they head towards Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4 in this series, giving the Pacers a clear home advantage. The Knicks now appear to have little chance of making it to the NBA Finals for the first time this century after blowing two excellent chances to win at the Garden.

Former NBA player also chimed in on the Tom Thibodeau criticism bandwagon

Just a week ago, the Knicks fans were in awe of their side as they knocked out the Boston Celtics to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, it’s completely the opposite as they are 2-0 down against their arch rivals, the Indiana Pacers. However, fans are solely blaming their HC, Tom Thibodeau, for this particular Game 2 loss.

Not only fans, former NBA player Isaiah Thomas also chimed in on the Thibodeau criticism bandwagon. He took to his X account to put forward his views on the Knicks’ head coach.

Thibs getting out coached… this happens to his teams every year. They die out because he doesn’t trust his bench

Isaiah Thomas tweeted

Not trusting your bench shows alarming signs as a head coach, especially in a contest like the ECF Finals. Thomas is right to call out Thibodeau over this. In addition, Knicks stars like OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson were spotted in a heated argument with their teammate Karl-Anthony Towns during the 4th quarter of Game 1. This shows that the team has a few issues they have to address before the series slips away from them.

Karl-Anthony Towns was spotted in a heated exchange with his teammates during Game 1

In the closing seconds of regulation in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers, which concluded in a shocking 138-135 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden to give Indiana a 1-0 series lead, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby had a heated exchange on the Knicks’ sideline on Wednesday.

When the Pacers were behind five points of the Knicks, 123-118, with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Anouby went up to a sitting Towns on the bench. The heated discussion continued as Anouby appeared in front of Towns before sitting down, as shown in the TNT broadcast. Jalen Brunson, who sat to Anouby’s left, tapped the small forward’s knee and drew him back as he tried to approach Towns during the verbal exchanges between the teammates.

This does not send a positive message to the Knicks’ fan base. In fact, just a few days later, they ended up losing Game 2 as well. Now, the Knicks have a huge task upon them: win on away road at Indianapolis. It remains to be seen how this situation unfolds in the coming days.

Also Read: