Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks drive doesn’t take any days off

CHARLESTON, S.C.

Its the work, see.

Its always about the work, always been about the work.

Last year, when a longtime friend of Tom Thibodeaus handed over a picture of Thibs at the beach, everyone starting with the Knicks chief instigator, Josh Hart had a good laugh at that one.

But it wasnt the same kind of laughter that usually accompanies unfortunate raids on attic-bound scrapbooks, the amusement of hair no longer long enough to be brushed, of faces without wrinkles, or the innocent smiles of youth.

Its just hard, Hart said in a quiet moment last year, a wide smile on his face, to think about that dude ever being on a beach.

Years ago, Jeff Van Gundy once discussed his appearance thusly: Id be a hell of a centerfold or a cover model for Gym Rat Illustrated.

If Van Gundy was the Christie Brinkley of that particular proclivity, then Thibodeau is Kathy Ireland.

There are some guys, no matter the profession, you know how many hours they put into a job.

Its the circles under the lawyers eyes, the blisters on the landscapers hands, the sallowness of a surgical residents face fresh off a double shift.

And there is the perpetual rasp lurking just outside a coachs voice box, on those days when it hasnt completely invaded their throats.

Coaches can hear it in each others voices in the same way singers can.

This is his life, Jalen Brunson said.

Starting Tuesday morning, inside the brightly lit walls on the courts inside the Col.

David S.

McAlister Center, it also became the shared life of all the players on the Knicks roster .

Those who gathered harbor hope of this particular chapter to last about a month longer than the last one.

And they know theres little secret about how it starts.

He brings a fire every day, Brunson said.

He wants us be better and hes going to push us.

He just wants to win.

Thibodeaus critics say sometimes directly, sometimes subtly that sometimes he pushes too much, wants to win too much.

It is an interesting dynamic.

In a time when its hard to identify a more unwelcome phrase in the sports lexicon than load management, when teams resting players generates more outrage than it seems even social media can handle, there is an odd Thibs Backlash, too, a curious zag.

He was actually ripped in certain circles last year for having the audacity to keep driving his teams toward 50 wins and the highest available seed.

When his players started getting banged up in the playoffs, instead of rounding up the usual suspects the fickle nature of the human body, the long season, the intense grind of a playoff run more than a few fingers were pointed at Thibodeau.

See? He drives them too hard! And, of course, there is the always-reliable annual poll of players granted anonymity who calculate Thibodeaus approval rating around the same level as a tax collectors.

There was the fear factor, Mikal Bridges said, smiling widely to make sure you knew: with him, at least, there was no fear factor .

When Im around Thibs, he cracks me up all the time.

But I know how serious he is.

Off the court, I can mess with him.

I love the intensity.

Hes not as bad as people think.

Its as relevant now as its ever been because the one person who wasnt on the court Tuesday Karl-Anthony Towns has a past relationship with Thibodeau that doesnt exactly conjure images of Belushi & Aykroyd or Pitt & Clooney.

Thibodeau was KATs second coach in Minnesota.

Thibs was is old-school.

That doesnt often jibe with young players.

KAT was reportedly unhappy that Thibodeau held Jimmy Butler to one set of standards and the rest of the team to another, and that led to Butlers ugly exit from Minneapolis and Thibodeaus exodus not long after.

When both men are allowed to talk about it, both surely will.

But both are at different parts of their careers now.

This is almost certainly Thibodeaus last NBA job, and hes freshly re-upped, and hes established now in a way that he wasnt in Minnesota, even with all his prior success in Chicago.

And KAT speaking frankly was just removed from a team many thought could compete for a title last year.

Its in his power to replicate that kind of feeling with these Knicks.

They need each other far more now than before.

And one of the things you hear about KAT, for all his other quirks, hes never been shy about the work.

Theres no reason to think this wont be a lot better marriage the second time down the aisle.

Mostly because it has to be.

The important thing is to understand the work that goes into it, Thibodeau said.

You look past that, youre skipping past things and youre not going to get there.

If you get the team committed to doing that then good things will come from it.

Outside the gym, many of The Citadels corps of cadets walk from class to class, many of them in double time, offering salutes when necessary.

That must make the coach of the Knicks smile.

None of them is soon to enjoy a day at the beach..

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