Thibs Gonna Thibs?

Are the "overuse" knocks on Thibs legit? And if so, will this be the season he changes his ways?

Good morning! Today I’m going deep on a topic many have implored me to write about over the years, even if it does hit a little close to home. Hope you enjoy.

Thibs Gonna Thibs?

We start the last week of August with two questions on the same topic. First up, from Neil:

I'd love to see a deep dive on the Thibs minutes / injuries question. Everything I've seen has been anecdotal on both sides of the argument. Does he actually play his players more? What's been the impact on injuries? Is there actually any correlation here? Incorporating other factors like practice intensity would be challenging, but I would think there's enough data since he's been a coach to be able to see if there's anything there.

And next up, a question from Brian:

How do you think Thibs deals with two starters who need to be load managed in OG and Mitch?

I grouped these two questions together purposefully, not just because they both pertain to New York’s divisive head coach, but because this season may be the point where the rubber finally meets the road. I’ll explain what I mean shortly.

First though, I’ll start by stating what should (I think) be obvious. As Neil points out, there is no way to definitively prove that Thibodeau’s balls-to-the-wall coaching style materially increases the risk of injury in his players. To do so would be to quantify the unquantifiable.