PORTLAND – After Mikal Bridges claimed he asked Tom Thibodeau to cut back on a few minutes, the coach denied that such a conversation occurred when controversy came out at Knicks World on Wednesday over playing time.
Bridges, the NBA Ironman and Minute Leader, said he spoke about giving Tibodeau and the bench a worthy opportunity after a morning shootaround.
“Sometimes that's not physically interesting,” the guard said. “But you want that as a coach. We also told him a bit that the guy on our bench could come and there's enough teams that don't have to play 48. [minutes]47.
“We have a lot of good guys on this team who can take a few minutes. This helps to defend, helps to attack, helps to get tired bodies out there, give up all these points. It helps to put a fresh body there.”
When asked how Thibodeau reacted to their speech, Bridges said. “I don't think he's arguing about it. Sometimes he just gets in his way and he gets locked up. Like Landry, you have to tell him. [Shamet]for example, or someone [else]put him there, they're playing well. ”
But a few hours later, Thibodeau retorted, “We've never had a conversation about it.”
The coach then began animated defense of his minutes distribution. Jalen Branson is only 19th in the average minutes, while Karl Anthony Towns is 23rd.
Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and the Bridge are all in the top six.
“The facts are true. Your wings play more, so they're in line with the main scorers,” Thibodeau said. “So the way that works is with Jason Tatum joining the game, Jalen Brown joining the game, OG joining the game, Mikal joining the game.
“Try keeping the matchup. When you watch the league, all of them are playing 35, 36 minutes – whether that's the case [Kevin] Durant, Tatum or brown. The wings will play more. They are the main wing defenders. That's how the league works. ”
Hart, who led the NBA minutes before Monday's average, “I don't want to leave the game,” added Thibodeau.
Bridges' minutes have been recently cut, dropping to 35.5 for every 20 games in the last 20 games, heading for the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Part of that is because, as Thibodeau pointed out, Chamette, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson have become healthy.
Bridges is a durable poster player, with the longest consecutive game streaks in the NBA, with the leaders this season totaling minutes. But the 28-year-old said workloads aren't easy.
“I think it's something you're really not used to,” Bridges said. “Your body will feel how it goes every year. But I've been a part of it for a while. I know how to take care of my body through those circumstances and try to do as much as I can.”
The distribution of Thibodeau's minutes has long been a hot button issue as players have been accused of overemploying them to undermine their health.
The latest accusations come from Channing Fly, who became an NBA television analyst who accused former Nick of injured his coach.
Heading Wednesday, Branson was the only injured Knicks starter with a sprained ankle.
“[Frye] Even our team doesn't understand,” Thibodeau said.
The Bridges, bought by the Knicks in the summer for five first-round draft picks, endured a roller coaster season with his productions on the net.
“I think there are many more [I can still show]Bridges said. “I think – it's a lot in it. It's just a systematic stuffing and our schemes offensively packed, and trying to find the right situation, and try to get me to read the right thing every time I get the chance.”
The Knicks entered the NBA's bottom on bench point on Wednesday. At least in part, it's the product of the starter eating for minutes.
Still, Reserve has recently enjoyed an increase in production as Robinson and Chamette have become more comfortable recently.
“We started the season with Landry Hurt and Deuce. [McBride] Not 100%. So our wings could play more,” Thibodeau said. “So are they playing more than I want? Yes. Maybe at 35 or 36, and when Mikal sees the last 10 games, they're playing 35 minutes per game, and those four games are overtime games. That's the reality. Deuce is healthy, so a few minutes of those will fall. That's right.”
