New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, center, huddles with the team before an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Sunday, May 2, 2021. (Troy Taormina/Pool Photo via AP) Credit: AP/Troy Taormina
On the very first day of training camp, Tom Thibodeau was asked what might have seemed like a far-fetched question. Taking over a Knicks team that had stumbled to a 21-45 record in 2020, had added only around the margins and had no experience with him, he was asked if, despite all of the naysayers, he thought this could be a playoff team.