One of the biggest criticisms of New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau’s coaching style is his minutes distribution. He has always been the type to play the starters significantly more than the bench, which has its pros and cons.
Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau defends the way he distributes minutes among his players
With Jalen Brunson sidelined with an ankle injury and the Knicks sitting comfortably in the third seed of the Eastern Conference, many fans have called for Thibodeau to give the starters more rest and use the bench more. At times he has done so, but it has not led to good results.
A good example of such is when he gave his bench unit extra burn against the Washington Wizards on Saturday with his team up by 33. The game was seemingly over, but that lead quickly shrunk to four with still most of the fourth quarter left to play. That forced Thibodeau to put his starters back in the game, which they pulled away and avoided a massive upset.
Before Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Thibodeau took the opportunity to defend his minutes distribution and said that there is no “right or wrong” when it comes to the amount of minutes guys are playing.
“I think each team is different. I think everybody has to run their own race,” Thibodeau said, via the New York Daily News’ Kristian Winfield. “You look at some teams. Some teams are playing more guys. Some teams are playing less guys. There’s no right or wrong. There’s what you feel is best for your team, what gives you the best chance to have the most success.”
Thibodeau receives unfair criticism for his handling of the starters
Three Knicks players are in the top 10 in minutes per game, with Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges being in the top three with over 37 minutes a night. OG Anunoby is seventh in minutes per game with 36.6.
Hart was at the center of attention for playing a lot of minutes during last year’s playoffs, as he went a stretch of games playing virtually every minute. Injuries to the roster were a big reason for that, which led to more unfair criticism toward Thibodeau.
Bridges, tabbed as the NBA’s Iron Man, has had multiple games with over 40 minutes played and is often used both with the starters and the bench unit on the Knicks. However, that hasn’t impacted his health as he has continued to play every single game like he has for his entire career.
Thibodeau receives the criticism because some feel that it is a direct cause of injuries, even though a lot of their injuries this season are not related to workload. Another reason is fatigue, as playing a large number of minutes can catch up to a player by the time the playoffs roll around when the competition gets more intense.
However, Thibodeau’s strategy works to a degree, as the Knicks are having their most successful season in over a decade. While critiquing his minutes distribution has merit, he deserves more credit for making the most out of the guys he has at his disposal.