Now that his NBA days are behind him, Jamal Crawford appears to have discovered his calling. He has spent 20 seasons lighting up arenas with his ball handling and scoring prowess; now, he is doing the same off the court.
After working as a television analyst, Crawford now hosts a mailbag series on NBA.com where he responds to a variety of queries. The majority of his responses are basketball-related, but occasionally he will address a topic from daily life, like cooking in his most recent one.
This week, he was questioned about the appropriate length of a basketball rotation, among other things. He gave a thorough response by drawing on his background as an NBA player and a youth team coach. The majority of NBA teams use nine or ten players during the regular season; in the postseason, that number may drop to seven.
Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the New York Knicks, was the subject of the direct question. Throughout the regular season, Thibodeau is infamous for employing strict, nine-man rotations. We have also witnessed him fall to eight in certain situations.
People have occasionally criticized this strategy because they believe he is exhausting his players. The person wanted to know the benefits and drawbacks of the tight rotation, which Crawford had utilized as an opportunity to compliment his former head coach. Crawford only had one season under Thibodeau, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves end a 13-year postseason drought in 2017–18.
“I coach youth, and I’ve rotated between 12 and 11 players, and that seemed like too many to me. This year, I have nine, which I think is the ideal amount to get guys into a rhythm without wearing them out.
Thibs is infamous for playing a lot of his starters. Conversely, bench players such as myself received fewer minutes. That being said, I will never question Thibs. There was never a coach I played for who was more prepared than him. Thus, he has his own ideas and worldviews. But if you’re a player, you just kind of roll with it and give him your support,” Crawford wrote.
Many accolades have been bestowed upon Thibodeau for his achievements as head coach. With the Knicks, he has demonstrated a greater willingness to modify his defensive-minded coaching style in order to better suit the needs of the contemporary NBA.
As a result, under his direction, the Knicks have made progress. They were the NBA’s laughingstock and bottom-feeding franchise for many years. Many anticipate that the team will keep moving up the Eastern Conference standings in Year 4 of his tenure in New York, putting them in contention.