Knicks forward Mikal Bridges said on Wednesday that he has spoken to head coach Tom Thibodeau about dialing back his starters’ minutes to some extent, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
While Bridges acknowledged that the starters’ significant workload is one reason he broached the subject, he suggested it was more about his belief that the Knicks’ reserves are worthy of more playing time.
“Sometimes it’s not fun on the body,” Bridges said. “You’ll want that as a coach but also talked to him a little bit knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48, 47 (minutes). We’ve got a lot of good guys on this team that can take away minutes. Which helps the defense, helps the offense, helps tired bodies being out there and giving up all these points. It helps just keeping fresh bodies out there.”
Bridges has been an iron man since entering the NBA in 2018, playing in 538 out of 538 possible games, so it’s not as if he’s an advocate for load management.
But all five Knicks starters are among the top 25 NBA players in minutes per game, with Josh Hart and Bridges tied for first at 37.8 MPG. OG Anunoby (36.6 MPG) ranks sixth, while Jalen Brunson (35.4) is 20th and Karl-Anthony Towns (35.0) is 25th.
Miles McBride (24.1) and Precious Achiuwa (21.9) are the only reserves averaging more than 15 minutes per night, and Achiuwa has been in and out of the rotation since Mitchell Robinson made his season debut.
Thibodeau’s minutes distribution has long been a subject of debate, with his critics arguing that heavy workloads for his starters has caused those players to break down earlier in the season and made them more susceptible to injuries. Thibodeau’s own players have frequently defended his usage of them.
As for Bridges’ suggestion, the Knicks forward said his head coach was willing to take it into consideration.
“I think he’s not arguing about it. Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways and he gets locked in. He just wants to keep the guy out there,” Bridges said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tell him, like Landry (Shamet), for example or somebody, keep him out there, they’re playing well.”
To my fellow Knicks fans who may be worried that Bridges is soft:
This took f***ing balls.
I was wavering but I am firmly Team Mikal again. LGK!
This just proved how “soft” Bridges is. Nobody else has complained, and prior to Bridges, they all embraced their workloads. Being overpaid isn’t enough. Still got to have more time off.
Insane take when talking about a guy who’s literally never missed a game since he came into the league and has led the league in minutes three of the past 4 seasons.
And he literally says he’s not complaining about the workload, it’s about getting run for the bench players. Brunson gets hurt and yeah, you have McBride to step up and start but now you’re giving *his* minutes to a guy that’s only played garbage time minutes most of the year. Getting guys at the end of the bench a little more time on the court in real situations keeps them sharp and means you’re not throwing someone rusty out there if a starter needs a game or two off.
Pretty much ALL of the American players made their reputations playing 5 or more games over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday playing in the Nike EYBL, or with Adidas or Under Armour in high school. The two games played on Saturday and Sunday you would be lucky to get a 3-hour break before playing your next game. These guys were ALL playing Thibs type minutes. Bridges is soft as tissue!
So that’s why the NCAA produces Zions and Ja’s whilst the International route produces MVP calibre players…
Bridges is also American though so your point makes no sense
They aren’t 17 anymore, and the NBA is a bit more physically demanding.
For this to come from Bridges is a big deal. The guy never wants to miss a game. I’m glad it was him and not somebody whose motive could be easily questioned.
Bridges never wants to miss a game, but many times you cannot tell he is on the floor while playing …. All the while being grossly overpaid. This guy was never that good.
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Nobody realized what Thibbs is? He’s done that his entire career. It’s the biggest complaint against him every time. I wouldn’t expect him to change now.
True but how often have players come to him directly with this complaint? Especially a workhorse like Bridges? Thibs ain’t getting any younger and he hasn’t won a championship. He’s smart enough to possibly adjust as this current team (as constructed; I’m talking about this year and the next couple of years; if the Knicks ever firing him, he’s probably not going to land in a great spot) is maybe the last chance he’ll ever have to contend for a title.
What has Mikhail Bridges won in the NBA???
Where did I imply that he won anything? Reading comprehension is key here. You hate Bridges and you think this generation is soft, fine. No need to drag me into an argument.
Thibs hasn’t won a championship in the league. He’s also always grinded his players down to a nub. Maybe he’s old enough to realize he needs to change slightly. That’s all I’m saying. Now I’ve said it twice.
Yeah, I’m sure players haven’t come to him very often if ever about it. It’s so obvious watching games that they are tired closing out games. Knicks have probably lost 10+ games due to end of game fatigue with their starting 5. It’s already an issue, and will be an even bigger issue in the playoffs. He needs to adjust, or Knicks are getting swept by the Celtics in round 2.
Yup… Nothing new here…
Thibs players just have to hope they are fringe rotation players… Otherwise at best they end up like Butler…
Often injured and for every good game there are 2-3 energy less games…
Thibodeau is the polar opposite of Steve Kerr lol
Softest generation ever.
Dude has never missed a game. Ever. He’s got the tenth longest consecutive games played streak of all time link to interbasket.net
And you’re calling him soft.
Interesting take.
Facts! Softest generation ever!
“Softest generation ever” lol what does that even mean? Go say that to miles bridges face and see how soft he is lmao. Even Rodman took games off to party in Vegas. Is je soft? Michael Johnson Jordan took a whole year off to play..baseball…one of the toughest sports known to man lol. Is he soft? I’ll wait.
As long as you are not a woman …. Miles Bridges is as “soft” as they come. Yes, I will say that to his face. Defending a guy who beats on women bro????
Talk about soft? Can you imagine a stiff like Karl Malone getting screened and and having to switch off onto Darius Garland. He would literally break both ankles and tear a hammy trying to “guard” Boog on an island.
The game’s so much different today. You can’t thug someone and call it defense anymore. It’s also played at breakneck speeds. Constant starting, stopping and pivoting on a dime takes it’s toll on the joints. It’s a lot easier to play 36+ minutes 78 games a season when you just watch a big guy puns the basketball for 20 seconds on every possession.
The Knicks are 6 up on the Bucks, and 5 behind the Celtics, with 18 to go. Their seeding probably won’t change. Giving the reserves more court time would allow them to be more game ready come the playoffs. The starters legs will be fresher. Why not do it?
Exactly.
Only way to develop a bench is to have them play.
Kolek looks like a solid player. And can Dadiome really not cut for layups, crash the boards, and play solid perimeter D after 7 months with Thibs? If the bench are hopeless at this point, how much of that is on Thibs?
Mad respect for Bridges…
But it’s Thibs… This isn’t new… This has happened multiple times during his career…