NBA Finals: Buck Showalter can identify with former Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, but says, "I don't dwell on it."
Tom Thibodeau, left, and Buck Showalter. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke; AP / Lynne Sladky
Tom Thibodeau hasn’t spoken publicly about the Knicks since they fired him a year ago, three days after they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. So no one really knows what he’s thinking about the Knicks being one win away from capturing their first NBA title in 53 years.
Buck Showalter might have an idea.
Showalter, who in 1995 managed the Yankees to their first playoff berth in 14 years, parted ways with the club after it blew a one-run lead in the 11th inning of the deciding Game 5 of its Division Series with the Mariners, then watched as his successor, Joe Torre, led them to the World Series title in 1996.
He moved on to the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks, leading them into the playoffs in 1999 in their second year of existence. But he was fired after the 2000 season, and Bob Brenly managed the Diamondbacks to the 2001 World Series title, beating the Yankees in a thrilling Game 7.
So if the Knicks, who hold a 3-1 lead over San Antonio in the NBA Finals, manage to close out the Spurs and bring New York its first NBA championship since 1973, Thibodeau will experience what Showalter already has gone through twice.
“I was on the [ESPN television] set in leftfield at Bank One Ballpark in Arizona when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees,’’ Showalter told Newsday in a phone interview Thursday. “The whole city was celebrating, and . . . it was a moment where you kind of get very reflective.
“All of a sudden, you realize that everything can survive without you,’’ he said. “And keep in mind it's always about the players . . . They're going to mourn you for about five minutes, and they're going to wonder who the next guy is coming in.’’
Showalter, who said it was his choice to leave the Yankees — he’d been offered a contract extension but turned it down because it would have required him to fire four coaches, he said — wrote Torre a letter congratulating him on getting the job. And, he said, he rooted for the Yankees and Torre after he left the club.
“I know that Joe was the right guy to come in there behind me,’’ he said. “Could it have happened if I stayed there? I don't know. I don't reflect. I don't dwell on it.’’
Showalter, who now lives in semi-retirement in the Dallas area, said he doesn’t know Thibodeau or current Knicks coach Mike Brown, but he praised both men.
“I'm sure there's some things that Tom did there [with the Knicks] that made them who they are today,’’ Showalter said. “And I'm sure that if they win, someone will thank him. I hope that would happen.’’
Thibodeau took over a team that had gone 38-110 the previous two seasons and hadn't made the playoffs for seven straight years. He led the Knicks to the postseason four times in his five years, reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals twice and the conference finals once. They went 226-174 in the regular season in his tenure.
The day he was introduced as Knicks coach last July, everyone knew that the expectations for Brown were high. Thibodeau was fired after guiding the Knicks to their best season in 25 years, and Brown was tasked with getting further than Thibodeau had. He wasn’t afraid of the challenge.
“Nobody has any bigger expectations, first of all, than I do,” he said at his introductory news conference. “My expectations are high. This is the Knicks. We talked about Madison Square Garden being iconic. We talked about our fans. I love and embrace the expectations that come along with it.”
He’s clearly been up to the task. When the Knicks trailed the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in their first-round series after a pair of one-point losses, Brown changed up the offense to make Karl-Anthony Towns the point center. The Knicks won their next 13 playoff games, most by large margins.
Towns got into early foul trouble in Game 4 at the Garden on Wednesday night, the Knicks fell behind by 29 points early in the third quarter and Brown responded by throwing different players onto the court, trying to find some combination that worked. He found it when he sent backup point guard Jose Alvarado onto the floor in the fourth quarter. Alvarado had eight points and two assists in the quarter, and after falling behind by 20 with 9:33 left, the Knicks rallied for a 107-106 victory to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Showalter, who refereed high school and college basketball to supplement his income when he was managing in the minor leagues, said he doesn’t know much about coaching basketball. But he said sometimes leading a good team requires a different skill set than building up a weak team.
“There’s guys that are very good at playing a good hand well, and playing a good hand well is sometimes as hard as building a club that hasn't been good,’’ he said. “It's like a poker guy; you’ve got a good hand, ‘well, how can I play it?’ Well, sometimes you don't overcoach it. You just kind of let them play.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
