The Knicks did away with normal protocol and didn’t hold their standard postseason individual exit meetings with the coach and management.
According to a league source, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau staged a long team meeting Thursday at the team’s Tarrytown facility — one day after they were eliminated by the Hawks in five games.
After the lengthy group discussion, Thibodeau told the players to disperse and come back in about two weeks for the standard player-evaluation conferences.
According to the source, Thibodeau wanted his players to unwind after the stress of the pandemic season in which they were essentially in a bubble. The players had been tested three times a day since training camp opened Dec. 1, including very early in the morning. The time off was also a reward for a 41-31 regular season that shocked the NBA.
The players also were not able to see friends and relatives not in their immediate family when they traveled to road cities, living a restricted lifestyle.