DETROIT — The Knicks’ season has been rife with second-guessing of his rotations and starting lineups, and coach Tom Thibodeau finally has expressed concern that media and social media have tried to drive a wedge between his team members by pitting player versus player. 

The central theme of a season gone bad has revolved around incessant questions over whether certain players were getting enough playing time. 

Should 2020 lottery pick Obi Toppin start over Julius Randle? Should point guard Kemba Walker be benched for wing Alec Burks? 

Why aren’t more young players getting time? Where is rookie Miles McBride? Are the Knicks better off with Randle injured? 

Thibodeau finally had enough of it following the Knicks’ thrilling 111-103 comeback win over the first-place Heat on Friday night, when backup point guard Immanuel Quickley and three rookies — McBride, Quentin Grimes and Jericho Sims — sparked the comeback. 

When asked about the explosion by the young guns, Thibodeau got defensive and the press conference veered in an unexpected direction. 

“You guys are trying to nitpick this, nitpick that,’’ Thibodeau said. “You need everyone across the course of a season.” 

Thibodeau added each player is vital, naming others who didn’t have the same impact Friday: RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Burks and Randle (who sat out the contest). 

“It’s a team, not an individual thing,” Thibodeau said. “Can’t pick up a boxscore after and say, ‘How many people are watching to the end of the game’ to really know exactly what happened in the game. I see a lot of opinions, but I don’t see guys doing the work to actually study it.’’ 

Thibodeau, the 2021 NBA Coach of the Year, was likely not referring to the full-time beat writers covering the team, but to the array of Knicks fan podcasts and what is proudly called “Knicks Twitter’’ — arguably the edgiest fan conglomerate on the social-media spectrum. 

“It’s where we are in society today. Social media,’’ Thibodeau said. “Look, hey, it’s part of the game. We love it. It drives the game. It’s as popular as it’s ever been. But to me, I don’t like anything that eats away at the fabric of the team. 

“And so, people want to take one game, whether it’s a win or a loss and they went, ‘Well, this, this and this.’ A guy might make one good play in the game, and he has nine bad plays. Or conversely, he makes nine good plays, and he has one bad play.’’ 

Sources have said Thibodeau has been most offended by claims he mistreated Walker, who eventually shut it down at the All-Star break, and accusations he has stunted Toppin’s growth because of a lack of playing time. 

Thibodeau’s reference that a player could make one brilliant play and nine bad ones could be a reference to Toppin, who hears “O-bi’’ chants after each showboat dunk. 

“I’m just saying, everyone has all the answers right after a game and often times, they haven’t studied,” Thibodeau said. “And I don’t want anything to divide our team. I want our team together. That’s how you win — as a team. You lose as a team. 

“So, when I see stuff being written or people talking about this, that. You hear it all the time, and then when you actually do study it and you watch the game again and maybe you watch it a third time, you actually know what transpired.” 

It’s not unusual for a head coach to lash out at the media for its second-guessing, but it was strange for such comments to come after arguably the Knicks’ most impressive win — one that kept their season alive, albeit barely. After victories at Charlotte and Miami, the Knicks (32-42) will visit Detroit for a Sunday matinee just five games out of the final play-in slot, albeit with just eight games remaining. 

Thibodeau likely imagines that the Knicks’ youngsters spurring the win over the Heat, and the fact they have won two straight without Randle, will spur more talk he must go younger. 

Quickley, who scored 20 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter Friday, said his teammates are used to the forum. 

“Nah, social media is always going to be social media,’’ Quickley said. “The best players in our game have been ridiculed on social media. Somebody’s always going to have an opinion. That’s not necessarily make it right or wrong, but you can’t get caught up in that stuff. Social media is something you can’t control, so you just try to move on.’’