The conversation hasn't changed. It dominated headlines last season during the playoffs when the New York Knicks were shorthanded. They looked gassed in the second round of the playoffs after an electric first-round win over the Sixers.
Yet again, Tom Thibodeau was criticized for playing his starters too much. Injuries pushed Thibodeau to play Alec Burks. He did well, which led to the media saying Thibodeau could've been playing Burks all along. Nobody talked about the guard playing himself out of the rotation after the deadline trade.
We are midway through the 2024-25 season, and the same things are being said. However, there's reason for Knicks fans to be concerned. Thibodeau has run an eight-man rotation for most of the season, and it's caught up with the players.
Competitors want to be on the floor every minute of the game, but it's not sustainable. Playing 82 games in a season is grueling enough (unless you're Mikal Bridges). The goal is to make it to the postseason in good shape, not to limp past the finish line.
There's pressure on Knicks' front office to acquire depth at deadline
New York is coming off a 116-99 loss to Minnesota on Friday. Yes, Karl-Anthony Towns sat, which was a factor in the loss. What stood out the most was the Knicks' exhaustion — or, at least, that's what it looked like. Clyde Frazier noted it multiple times on the MSG Networks broadcast.
They weren't talking or rotating on defense, probably due to a lack of effort than tiredness. They didn't play with the intensity that should've come naturally playing against one of your former teammates.
when you hear me bitch, yet again, about losing assignments/slow closeouts during tonight’s postgame thoughts just know this is what im referring to pic.twitter.com/CwFG6iZdtJ
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 18, 2025
New York has three starters in the top eight players in the league in minutes per game. Unsurprisingly, Ironman Bridges is first with an average of 39 minutes per game, followed by Josh Hart (37.8). OG Anunoby is tied for seventh (36.6). Brunson is 24th with 35.2 minutes, and Karl-Anthony Towns is tied for 30th (34.7).
Players like Hart scoff when the minutes played conversation is brought up. Here's what he had to say a couple of weeks ago about it:
"We have a couple bad games, a couple losses in a row and all y'all cry about minutes, be the minute police and all that,” he said. “That’s all outside noise. We’re gonna play the game the way we’re supposed to play it. We’re gonna play as hard as we can when we’re out there."
That last sentence certainly wasn't the case on Friday night. The minutes police take their jobs too seriously, but they certainly have a case at this point in the season.
It would help if Thibodeau gave players like Tyler Kolek more minutes. Nobody expects him to start or finish games, but he can contribute. Ariel Hukporti is more of a work in progress, but the Knicks don't have a solid backup center. Hukporti could help at times.
The front office won't make another earth-shattering trade before the deadline, but they could make a minor deal to help boost depth. Doing so would likely require parting with Mitchell Robinson (who is expected to return in early February), Precious Achiuwa, or Miles McBride. The latter should be off-limits.
Depth is an X-factor in the playoffs. Fans want to see the team at least snap its Eastern Conference Finals drought, but the season could end a round (or two) before that if the Knicks don't have any gas left in their tank. Let's see what Leon can do.