4 reasons why Tom Thibodeau should be on a short leash with Knicks
By James Nolan
3. Thibodeau burns his key players out
A lot of times throughout last season, the Knicks struggled in the second half. A huge factor in this were the minutes that Julius Randle and RJ Barrett were playing.
Thibodeau doesn’t really like to go to the guys on his bench a lot, so players like Randle and Barrett ended up playing the majority of the game. By the time the fourth quarter hit last year, Barrett and Randle were usually running out of gas because of the large sum of minutes they received.
He also did this during his tenure as head coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls. In his 2017-2018 season with the Wolves, his three stars, Jimmy Butler, KAT, and Andrew Wiggins were all top 15 in minutes per game. Although they reached the postseason, they only managed to win one game in the first round and were eliminated very quickly.
Does that sound familiar? In the 2020-2021 season, Barrett and Randle were both top 15 in minutes. In fact, Randle led the league in minutes, averaging 37.6. Then, as all fans know, the Atlanta Hawks made quick work of the Knicks in the first round.
Tom Thibodeau played Derrick Rose 39 minutes in a game in 2021. Time is a flat circle.
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) May 27, 2021
Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, and Julius Randle are all very good players, but it is important that Thibodeau doesn’t overuse them so that they can be fresh when the Knicks need them most.