The New York Knicks were absolutely terrible in their do-or-die Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers made easy work of them for a second year in a row.

Perhaps no player performed worse than Josh Hart, who got lambasted by fans for his 4-point outing in a critical game.

Jalen Brunson doesn’t think the Knicks have to start ringing alarm bells just yet. However, Karl-Anthony Towns may have to address some of the concerns his teammates have.

But another name that is facing a lot of scrutiny is head coach Tom Thibodeau. Jalen Brunson was not happy with this, as he let one unfortunate reporter know.

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

While at his press conference, Jalen Brunson fielded a question from a reporter about the criticism Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks regularly get.

The reporter asked whether he thinks coach Thibs is the right man to carry the Knicks going forward, and Brunson was beside himself.

“Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy. Yes. Come on.”

Clearly, Jalen Brunson has a lot of respect for Tom Thibodeau and wants him to be the head coach. But it might not be up to him.

In a report by Fred Katz and James L. Edwards for The Athletic, we found out that Coach Thibodeau is well-liked by Brunson and the Knicks, but owner James Dolan will decide if the coach sticks around.

“The coach has the backing of team president Leon Rose, league sources said, as well as a full buy-in from Brunson, who signed with the Knicks in 2022 in part because he wanted to play for Thibodeau. But ultimately, owner James Dolan is the final decision-maker.”

Dolan was the scapegoat for Knicks fans during their years as an underwhelming squad. But since hiring Leon Rose as team president, the Knicks have been on the up and up, and Dolan has largely escaped criticism.

But if Dolan wants to maintain the goodwill, he might have to get rid of Thibodeau and bring in a new head coach, potentially Michael Malone.