Thibs is doing a lot more with a lot less at his disposal. The roster as a whole is far inferior to all teams fighting for the title and that’s before taking into account the injuries the team has suffered so far. New York is winning games that shouldn’t be with mix-and-match formations.
They say respect comes from admiration and fear, and boy, that saying rings true when it comes to players and Thibs: these guys play their hearts out for the man all 48 minutes on the pitch and he was able to convince the outgoing talent of guys who were seen as the last players before this season.
Thibs spent his early years as an assistant under arguably one of the best coaches of all time at Gregg Popovich and has since taken a page from Pop’s handbook by playing to a player’s strengths and covering up their weaknesses with the strength of man next to him on the floor.