Steve Kerr: “Thibs is doing a brilliant job at the Knicks”

Before the Knicks took on the Warriors to begin a four-game journey on Thursday, Golden State’s Steve Kerr spoke brightly but honestly about New York’s start for the 2020-21 season with Tom Thibodeau in the lead. Kerr, a three-time NBA Finals champion as head coach of the Warriors, has watched the upsets of Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls (2010-15) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2017-19) and sees a promising trend for the Knicks.

“Yeah, he did a great job,” Kerr said of Thibodeau before a 10pm tip at the Chase Center in San Francisco. “You know, it’s a typical Thibs team. They defend themselves and keep themselves in the games, night after night, and they’ve had some great wins throughout the year. And then one night you’re going to watch them and they won’t take a hit and wonder, you know, “How the hell are they .500?” And then you see them the next night, they’ve beaten a great team because they’re defending like crazy and they’re running and defending the ball.

“And so, it’s a team that is clearly building the foundations. Thibs is doing a great job. And he has an interesting mix of players – a lot of veterans and a couple of projects and then a really talented guy in Obi Toppin, who obviously doesn’t have played a lot. So I think all in all, when you watch their record, Thibs did a brilliant job. “