Tom Thibodeau is doing the Tom Thibodeau thing to the Knicks again
This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! The New York Knicks have a Boston Celtics problem.
At this point, the Celtics have demolished the Knicks in all three games they've played against each other so far. Boston has proven itself to be the better team. New York should do everything it can to avoid seeing the Celtics in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
But, bigger than that, it looks like New York might have a Tom Thibodeau problem. Again.
Karl-Anthony Towns landed awkwardly after a layup attempt in the 4th quarter with Boston up by 12. He limped over to the bench and then sprawled out in pain as trainers looked at him. He went back into the locker room shortly after to be further examined.
Considering that the game was already getting out of hand when Towns left it and was even worse when he finally returned to the bench, you'd think his afternoon was over. He wouldn't play in this game.
Nope! He returned to the game with the Knicks trailing by 18 points with just over four minutes left to play.
Playing one of your best — and most expensive — players after a pretty clear injury scare feels like malpractice in general. But especially so for a game that doesn't really matter in mid-February.
That's Tom Thibodeau ball, folks.
It feels like this happens every year. He just plays his guys through everything, no matter what.
Don't get me wrong — he's a very good coach. He keeps that top talent on the floor and, ultimately, they execute well. That's why a Thibs-coached team almost always finds itself in the thick of the playoff race.
Does it also wear down his best players by the end of the year? Also, yes. Wear and tear is real, man. Especially on the biggest players in the league. All of these little injuries add up. A sprain here, a contusion there. Playing through all of that without proper rest and healing isn't great for this team's long-term prospects.
Hopefully, whatever Towns' injury here is isn't as serious as it looked and he'll be fine for the stretch run into the postseason. But, man. If I'm the Knicks, I might sit him down for a minute. Even if the coach doesn't want to.
Down goes Notre Dame
Folks, we're about to have our 4th No. 1 team for the women's college basketball season so far after Notre Dame fell to Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James, Zoe Brooks and NC State.
The Wolfpack became the first time this century (!!!!) to score 100 points against the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, according to ESPN.
Things are so chaotic in college hoops right now. Again, this is the third No. 1 seed to fall so far this season. But, beyond that, it feels like everybody has beaten everybody in a roundabout way.
This tweet captures that perfectly.
NC State lost to LSU, LSU lost to Texas, Texas lost to SC, SC lost to UConn, UConn lost to USC, USC lost to Notre Dame, Notre Dame lost to NC State, NC State lost to SC, SC lost to UCLA, UCLA lost to USC… and so on
As you can tell, March is going to be psychotic this year.— #firegeno (@firegeno) February 23, 2025
March is going to be so fun, folks. Buckle in.
The Mystics pulled a fast one
Chicago, WYD? The Sky just traded away the third overall pick in the WNBA draft to the Mystics for Ariel Atkins, who is a solid player but not an All-Star and will also become a free agent relatively soon.
Meg Hall has more of a breakdown for you here.
"At first glance, I was really excited at the thought of Ariel Atkins joining the Sky. She creates space with her off-ball movement, can heat up at any moment (a bucket-getter), and is a very good defender.
All Chicago had to do was give up this year’s first-round pick. That’s great. Right? Sure it is—until I saw the rest of the trade.
Excuse me. I need a moment. I just fell to my knees in Target.
I AM UNWELL.
Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca agreed to swap 2027 first-round picks and gave away a second-round pick. Why is that significant? The 2027 draft is the JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo draft class.
*DRAMATIC GULP*"
Really not sure what Chicago is doing here.
Quick hits: The Eagles in the White House? ... 50-point blowouts in the NBA ... and more
— Are the Eagles going to the White House after winning the Super Bowl? Here's everything we know so far.
— Robert Zeglinski says 50-point blowouts have become an alarming trend in the NBA.
— Prince Grimes has more on the Fresno State sports betting investigation. This is insane.
— Here's Christian D'Andrea on six under-the-radar NFL free agents this offseason.
— Alex Ovechkin is getting SO CLOSE to Wayne Gretzky's goal record. We need this, man.
— Here's a look at all 30 MLB jerseys after much-needed updates from Nike and Fanatics.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Have a fantastic week. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tom Thibodeau is doing the Tom Thibodeau thing to the Knicks again
