NBA Coach Firing Odds: Where's New York Knicks' Tom Thibodeau?
Autumn in New York ... and a playoff series victory ... have apparently done nothing to cool Tom Thibodeau's hot seat.
BetOnline has released its opening odds for the first NBA head coach to be relieved of duty during the 2023-24 season. Thibodeau, set to enter his fourth season at the helm of the New York Knicks, holds the seventh-highest odds at 11-1 on a list paced by Billy Donovan of Chicago (4-1).
The placement of Thibodeau is perhaps surprising considering the Knicks' overachievement last season. Few had last year's team advancing beyond the Eastern Conference's Play-In round after a disappointing 37-win campaign in 2021-22, but Thibodeau's latest group instead won 47 games before picking up the franchise's first playoff series victory in a decade.
Tom Thibodeau, seen during last year's postseason clash vs. Cleveland, has amassed a 125-111 regular season record at the helm of the Knicks.
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Expectations, however, are forever amplified in New York, which is looking to end a 23-year lack of conference final appearances. With the Knicks having brought back almost every major contributor to last season's cause, Thibodeau will likely be under pressure to get off to a good start, especially considering their 17-8 record over their final 25 regular season games, and at least duplicate last year's postseason success.
Among those with the hottest seats granted by oddsmakers, Thibodeau is one of four coaches in the top 10 despite reaching the 16-team postseason last season. In that regard, he's joined by Chris Finch (Minnesota, 6-1) Tyronn Lue (LA Clippers, 10-1), and fellow New Yorker Jacque Vaughn (Brooklyn, 16-1) who respectively rank third, sixth, and tenth. Thibodeau's also the only coach in the top 10 that won a playoff round last spring.
Steve Clifford (Charlotte, 5-1) is in second place behind Donovan while Wes Unseld Jr. (Washington, 7-1) and Jason Kidd (Dallas, 8-1) round out the top five.
