Known for his ability to make his executives play a lot, Tom Thibodeau keeps his (bad) habits in 2025. The Knicks starters are at the top of the minutes played in the NBA, be careful not to burn out (yet).
The Knicks have the third best record in the Eastern Conference and are coming off a major victory against the Bucks. Two good reasons to smile for Big Apple fans, but be careful not to forget that an NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint. A phrase that we repeat year after year but which has difficulty getting into Tom Thibodeau’s head.
From Chicago to New York via Minnesota, Thibs remains faithful to his philosophy, with tight rotations from the regular season onwards, even if it means asking a lot of effort from his executives, who therefore arrive with heavy legs in the Playoffs. Last season, this had harmful consequences, with a cascade of injuries during the postseason.
A lesson clearly not learned since the Knicks currently have the three players with the highest number of minutes played this season in the NBA, namely Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby according to StatMuse. Jalen Brunson isn’t far behind with the 6th most minutes in the entire NBA. You then have to go down to 22nd to find Karl-Anthony Towns. 4 starters among the first 6 in the ranking is a lot and we would even want to say, it’s way too many.
This classification nevertheless needs to be qualified a little because it is necessary to distinguish between minutes played and average playing time per match. If we look at the playing time of Knicks players this season, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are still at the top of the NBA, but the other starters are much further away, namely 9th, 27th and 30th. (source ESPN)
However, Thibs will have to be able to find a way to breathe new life into his executives. The return from injury of Miles McBride should help in the case of Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson should soon come and give Towns a helping hand under the panels. It remains to find solutions on the wings, where Bridges, Anunoby and Hart are in the oven and at the mill every evening. Perhaps the arrival of a new player between now and the trade deadline?
Source stats : ESPN / StatMuse
