Some within Madison Square Garden expect Knicks to take tangible step forward this season

Tom Thibodeau isn’t feeling any added pressure as he enters his third season as Knicks coach.

"I've never felt pressure, ever. See, when you put everything you have into your job, that's all you can do. So I've never felt pressure,” Thibodeau said earlier this week. “Others can say this, that; that ain't happening here. Just get ready (to play).

“I've been at this a long time. I approach it the same way. I put everything I have into each and every day. I'm willing to live with that result. There's no one -- no one -- who studies this team harder than I do."

In his first season in New York, Thibodeau seemed to push almost all of the right buttons; he earned Coach of the Year as the Knicks, led by a resurgent Julius Randle, finished with the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Last year wasn’t nearly as smooth, to put it kindly.

After a 5-1 start, the Knicks struggled. The veterans didn’t mesh well, the club lost Derrick Rose to injury and stumbled through the middle of the year. The losses mounted, as did the nightly questions about Thibodeau’s approach.

Heading into the All-Star break, team president Leon Rose was given the autonomy from ownership to part ways with Thibodeau, if that’s what he chose to do. Rose, obviously, stuck by Thibodeau; the Knicks finished the season 9-5, bolstered by strong performances from some of their young players.

But internally – at least in some influential corners of Madison Square Garden – there is a concrete expectation that this team takes a step forward in 2022-23. Thirty-seven wins without a clear direction won’t be easily digested in those corners of MSG.

So even if Thibodeau doesn’t feel pressure heading into the season, the onus to produce results exists internally.

Of course, it shouldn’t all be on Thibodeau (I don’t believe that it is). It should be on everyone in the organization – from team president Leon Rose on down – to show results in the group’s third full season.

Sure, Thibodeau is responsible for lineup/rotation decisions. But he didn’t pick all of the players. He didn’t make the final call in the Donovan Mitchell negotiations. He didn’t create a natural pressure point in the roster by drafting Obi Toppin and signing Randle to an extension.

So if the Knicks struggle this season, no one should be absolved from criticism.

They added Jalen Brunson in the offseason and decided not to finalize a trade to acquire Mitchell from Utah.

Given the current roster, expectations externally are probably pretty low for the group.

But the head coach is the employee who takes the most criticism day in and day out in the NBA. That’s the nature of the job. And for this Knicks coach, in this particular season, every decision he makes during a loss will be dissected.

Fair or not, that’s how it is.

Thibodeau knows this. He’s been in the NBA for a long time. He knows there are expectations - among some within the Garden - that the Knicks show tangible improvement this season.

I would never tell fans how to root for their team, but I think Thibodeau deserves the benefit of the doubt heading into Year Three.

If the Knicks start off strongly and are competitive through the first two months of the season, there won’t be as much angst around Thibodeau’s rotations/decisions. No one will be up in arms over the things he says/doesn’t say in a press conference.

But if the Knicks start out slowly and stumble into late December, Thibodeau will probably be facing the same dynamic as David Fizdale, Jeff Hornacek, Mike Woodson and many others before him: an unfriendly crowd at Madison Square Garden and the burden of unmet expectations.