Tom Thibodeau didn’t hide his frustration…

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t hold back in his criticism of the officiating, particularly over the lack of calls for Jalen Brunson, after Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic.

Brunson finished with 2o points on the night, including 12 (out of 12 attempts) from the free throw line. Considering how much the Knicks guard attacked the rim, though, Coach Thibs felt that his superstar should have gotten more trips to the charity stripe.

Making things worse for the Knicks, the Magic got more foul calls, resulting to 40 free throw attempts compared to their 29 freebies. Thibodeau couldn’t hide his frustration as he expressed his dismay over the officiating.

“What this guy’s going through’s ridiculous. Ridiculous. He’s getting hammered time after time, and I’m just getting sick and tired of it. I watch it, I send it in…They’re fouls. Plain and simple. They’re fouls…Sick and tired of it,” Thibodeau said on the uncalled fouls on Brunson after their 117-108 loss, via New York Basketball.

Sure enough, the NBA won’t be too pleased with Tom Thibodeau’s statement about the officiating. With that said, don’t be too surprised if he gets fined for it.

Nonetheless, it’s easy to see where Thibodeau is coming from. Jalen Brunson has been one of the best scorers in the NBA this 2023-24 season, and as teams get more physical to stop him, his free throw rate should have also increased. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case, not only against the Magic but throughout the season so far.

Brunson is averaging less free-throw attempts this campaign compared to the previous season despite increasing his offensive workload. As Thibodea said, it’s just “ridiculous.”