Tom Thibodeau wants Knicks to tune out outside expectations

GREENBURGH — Expectations from the outside are something that Tom Thibodeau has never concerned himself with and when it comes from the NBA’s survey of general managers, it is no different.

“Yeah, I put a lot of stock in that,” Thibodeau said sarcastically on Wednesday. “And look, I mean, it’s great that there’s that type of interest in the league. I think that’s more for the fans. We can’t fall for stuff like that, whether it’s praise or whether it’s criticism. The only thing that really matters is what we think. And so, we know if we do all the things that are necessary, we will get better, and the whole focus has to be to improve throughout the year and to be playing our best at the end.”

The latest version of the survey has the Knicks facing raised expectations, unusual in recent decades at Madison Square Garden. Picked fifth in the Eastern Conference with 17% of the votes for third place and 33% for fourth, it is a different atmosphere around the franchise. But Thibodeau and his team will not play along.

Since camp began Thibodeau has dismissed any talk about last season’s fifth-place finish in the East, insisting that it means nothing to this season even if the Knicks brought back nearly the same exact team, adding only Donte DiVincenzo to the rotation.

“I think we’re still always going to be doubted and overlooked regardless,” RJ Barrett said. “That’s not really what’s important. We want to win. People can say we’re the greatest team ever or we’re the worst team ever, we’re trying to win. It doesn't really matter what anybody else says except the people that are in there fighting together and working together every day.”

The Knicks can’t be blamed for not letting last season’s trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals allow them to enter this season believing they can take this season lightly. Thibodeau and Barrett were here when the Knicks finished fourth in the East three seasons ago and then crashed the next season, finishing in 11th place.

“First of all, we had different players coming in the next year,” Barrett said. “The team was a little different. We had to try to figure things out differently. It didn’t end up working out. That’s what I’ll say is the difference. This year, we added Donte, but we pretty much have the same guys out there. I think it should be better.”

“I know how I look at us, and I know how our organization looks at the team,” Thibodeau said. “So, I think that’s the important thing, is not to get lost. Every year, you can look at those polls and then at the end, you look at what actually happened and often times, it’s very different. So, it doesn’t carry a lot of meaning.

“You approach each day — I think you have to respect every opponent that you play against. You can’t get into this league without being a great player, so everyone is capable of beating you and you have to be ready to play each and every night. So, I think the first thing for us is to, No. 1, be a team and then to be ready. We have to be ready for everybody. So, there’s no short cuts to this. And then we have to be mentally tough. We have to be able to get through things.”

Notes & quotes: Thibodeau started his media session by speaking about longtime coach Brendan Malone, who passed away Tuesday. “All-time great coach, great guy,” he said. “I learned a ton from him. He was a great example for a young coach to follow both on the court and off the court. Thoughts and prayers to his wife, Maureen, and to Michael and their entire family. But New York City legend, high school coach, five-star coach, Knick, assistant, several-times head coach. He’s a great coach, period, but a great man. So, thoughts and prayers to the family.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.