Tom Thibodeau had some misguided anger following the New York Knicks’ 100-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA playoffs on Monday night. Thibodeau criticized the officiating, pointing to the free throw discrepancy in the game.
"He battled like crazy... huge discrepancy in free throws, huge. I've got to take a look at that"
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 22, 2025
Tom Thibodeau talks about Jalen Brunson's performance and tonight's officiating: pic.twitter.com/xuSLZqnWpB
Yes, he has a point in that the Pistons shot 34 free throws to the Knicks’ 19 free throw attempts. But that’s not where the game was lost. And Thibodeau’s frustration from the loss carried over into the postgame press conference.
This loss wasn’t on the referees. This loss actually falls on the shoulders of Thibodeau. He made two critical mistakes that cost New York a shot at going up 2-0 going to Detroit for the next two games.
Tom Thibodeau should be focused more on his coaching rather than the refereeing, following Game 2 loss to Detroit
Thibodeau should worry about figuring out how he can turn things around in Game 3. Because he had two massive mistakes that cost New York. The biggest mistake was not capitalizing on Detroit going scoreless for five-plus minutes.
It was the second such scoring drought for the Pistons this series. When it happened on Saturday, the Knicks turned an eight-point deficit into a 13 point lead thanks to a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter.
When it happened Monday, the Knicks were ice cold. They did enough to erase a once 15-point Detroit lead but they should have been able to score enough to win. That was the first flaw. The second problem was not finding a way to get Karl-Anthony Towns involved late.
He didn’t take a single shot in the fourth quarter. That’s a problem when one of your best players is a non-factor in the most critical point of the game. Had Thibodeau spent more time scheming Towns into the offense late and not worry about the foul counter, maybe the Knicks would have found a way to steal a second win.
The Knicks have been outplayed in six of the eight quarters played in this series so far. Thibodeau has to figure out how to play better throughout the game. They’re one Pistons collapse away from being down 2-0.
They have the playoff experience compared to the Pistons; they have the home court advantage. The Knicks are making this series harder than it needs to be. That comes down to Thibodeau. Hopefully he doesn’t keep using the referees as an excuse when he’s the Knicks’ biggest problem right now.