IN 2017, after a disappointing season where his young Minnesota Timberwolves struggled to hold onto leads, coach Tom Thibodeau identified a key problem: toughness.
`I reviewed the game footage, and it consistently pointed back to toughness,` Thibodeau explained during media day. `We weren`t playing tough enough. We aimed to change that over the summer.`
Thibodeau believed that injecting more toughness into the roster was a quick solution. While other teams adopted load management to conserve star players for the playoffs, the Timberwolves went in the opposite direction, prioritizing players known for their durability.
`Last year, three of the league`s 17 ironmen who played all 82 games were on our team. We then added two more, Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague, who also played every game. Now we have five of the 17,` Thibodeau stated, emphasizing the significance of these acquisitions. `That`s important.`
These additions were in addition to Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, known for their resilience and prior experience playing full seasons under Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls.
Eight years later, Thibodeau`s strategy remains unchanged with the Knicks, reigniting the ongoing debate surrounding his coaching style.
This season, the Knicks have utilized their bench the least and received the fewest points from their reserves in the league. Historically, it`s been nearly four decades since a team leading the NBA in starters` minutes reached the NBA Finals, the last being the 1986-87 Boston Celtics, according to ESPN Research.
Thibodeau`s philosophy of heavily relying on his best players is divisive among Knicks fans. Despite this, he has guided the team to their most consistent success in 25 years, even tying Hall of Famer Pat Riley for fourth in team wins.
Thibodeau, with a 58% win rate, the highest among coaches without a Finals appearance, believes championship teams need unwavering resolve and mental fortitude throughout the season. However, his demanding, win-at-all-costs approach raises a crucial question about the Knicks` potential and his future with the organization:
Will this high-minutes strategy exhaust the Knicks when they need peak performance?
`Everyone,` Thibodeau commented recently, `must follow their own path.`
FOR ANY OTHER TEAM, such comments might be overlooked.
However, in New York, where starters consistently log excessive minutes and key players have been hampered by injuries during playoffs, Mikal Bridges` remarks about heavy workloads were bound to spark discussion. Bridges, who leads the NBA in minutes and has never missed a game in his seven-year career, expressed concern.
`Sometimes it takes a toll on the body,` Bridges admitted to reporters in Portland last month. `We have enough talent on our bench to contribute, so we don`t need to play 48, 47 minutes. We have capable guys who can share the minutes, which would benefit our defense, offense, and reduce fatigue.`
Ironically, the controversy subsided that same night when Bridges, playing his 41st minute, hit a game-winning three-pointer in overtime against the Blazers. Nevertheless, it was significant that a newcomer like Bridges publicly questioned the team`s minutes distribution.
While other Knicks may not have voiced similar concerns as openly as Bridges, the data clearly indicates the team`s outlier status in starter playtime.
When Jalen Brunson suffered a severe ankle sprain in overtime against the Lakers about a month ago, the Knicks had three of the top four minute leaders in the NBA: Bridges at No. 1, Josh Hart at No. 2, and Brunson at No. 4. Even with Brunson`s absence, the starting five has played 885 minutes together, 255 minutes more than any other team.
If Bridges and Hart finish the season as the top two in total minutes played, it would mark the third time in Thibodeau`s coaching career (previously in 2016-17 and 2020-21) that two of his players led the league in minutes. In NBA history, this has only happened in two other seasons in the league`s 79 years.
Thibodeau defends his approach by stating that extended minutes for wing players are necessary because many of the league`s top players, like Boston`s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, potential second-round opponents, are primarily ball-handlers and scoring threats.
`We aim to maintain matchups. If you observe the league, those top players are playing 36, 37 minutes,` he explained. `[Bridges and Hart] are primary wing defenders. That`s how it is.`
Some argue that the Knicks` slow pace of play mitigates the strain of high minutes. However, New York`s starters may be exerting more energy than perceived.
Brunson, the team`s point guard, leads the league in ball possession time at 8.7 minutes per game and in clutch baskets with 47. Hart, known for his physicality, frequently dives for loose balls, leading the NBA with 80 recovered loose balls this season.
Bridges, in his defensive rotations, navigates an NBA-high 25 screens per game. NBA tracking data reveals that this season, Bridges has covered 37 more miles than Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, 41 more miles than Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, and 66 more miles than Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard.
This context makes games like December`s 24-point victory against the Charlotte Hornets particularly noteworthy.
The Knicks dominated Charlotte, who were missing key players. Despite a significant lead and never leading by less than 20 points in the final 25 minutes, Hart played 38 minutes, Karl-Anthony Towns 39, and OG Anunoby 40. Bridges played nearly the entire game, exiting only in the final minutes.
Thibodeau justifies keeping starters in even with large leads by recalling his time as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets in 2004, when Tracy McGrady`s 13 points in 35 seconds against the San Antonio Spurs completed an improbable comeback.
`In this league, no lead is safe. I`ve witnessed it firsthand,` Thibodeau stated last season. `People suggest getting starters out when we`re ahead. But experience tells me otherwise.`
OG ANUNOBY`S ENTRANCE from the Madison Square Garden tunnel and his quick scores in Game 7 of the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals initially resembled a Willis Reed moment. He was returning from a hamstring strain.
However, it became more of a final stand. Anunoby`s movement was visibly restricted defensively.
`You can see it in these last plays: OG Anunoby`s movement is limited,` ESPN analyst Doris Burke observed during the broadcast. `On Pascal Siakam`s post-up, Anunoby barely moved.`
Shortly after, Anunoby was slow to close out on Andrew Nembhard at the three-point line, conceding a three-pointer. Thibodeau called a timeout, and Anunoby was substituted out after only five minutes, marking his last appearance of the season.
The situation worsened. The Knicks, already missing Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic for the remainder of the season, also lost Brunson to a fractured hand in the second half.
After the Pacers set a Game 7 record by shooting 67% from the field to defeat New York, Thibodeau praised his team. `Guys gave everything they had… they were completely spent,` he said.
Thibodeau`s critics might argue that last year`s injury-plagued playoff run was not an isolated incident. During his tenure with the Bulls, injuries consistently hampered the team, most notably Derrick Rose`s knee injuries, along with issues for Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. In 2023, the Knicks` postseason was potentially shortened by injuries to Randle and Brunson against the Miami Heat.
In Thibodeau`s defense, the Knicks` bench is not as deep as it was the previous year. They lost Isaiah Hartenstein to free agency, and in trading Randle, they also lost Donte DiVincenzo, who was a key bench contributor before becoming a starter and setting a Knicks record for three-pointers. However, there is a positive development in New York: a shift in their playing style.
Brunson`s recent absence due to injury might have provided a crucial opportunity for rest before the playoffs. Before his injury, Brunson was carrying a heavy offensive load, scoring a league-high 49% of his team`s clutch points.
During Brunson`s absence, Anunoby and Bridges have increased their scoring output, averaging over 22 points each, up from 16.5 and 17.2 points, respectively. The Knicks` defense has also improved, ranking in the top 10 since Brunson`s injury, compared to 17th before.
Are these adjustments, combined with a healthy and rested Brunson, enough to close the gap between the Knicks and the top contenders in the East? Perhaps, perhaps not.
Ultimately, like Thibodeau`s demanding, grind-it-out philosophy, it`s a matter of perspective.
`There`s no definitive right or wrong approach,` Thibodeau concluded. `It`s about what you believe is best for your team.`
