To the surprise of *checks notes*, nobody, the Knicks' starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns, has logged the most minutes of any unit in the playoffs so far.
The starting five has played a total of 118 playoff minutes together, or 23.6 per game. This comes after that same lineup played a league-leading 940 minutes together in the regular season, 226 minutes more than any other lineup.
The "Tom Thibodeau plays his starters for too many minutes!" argument is not a new one. It has existed as long as, well, as long as Thibodeau has been a coach. Bridges, Hart, and Anunoby were all in the top 10 in minutes played in the regular season, they are all playing over 37 minutes per night in the playoffs.
Last season, the same debate surrounded the Knicks during the season. Then, Anunoby, who is playing 41.5 minutes per game these playoffs, suffered a hamstring injury during Game 2 of their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Mitchell Robinson also went down with an injury, which required surgery that kept him out for much of this season.
Brunson's playoffs also ended last season with injury, a broken hand, meanwhile, Hart was battling through his own injuries.
Knicks fans held their breath in Game 5 when faced with an all-too-familiar sight: both Brunson and Hart had to leave the game with apparent injuries. Ultimately, they both were able to return to the game and, thankfully, appear to have avoided anything too serious, as neither is listed on the injury report for Game 6.
Now, this is not to say that the Knicks are the only team that battles injuries. There is also zero evidence that any of those injuries were a direct result of being played too much.
Thibs doesn't use his bench
This is what there is concrete evidence of, however. The Knicks' bench has not contributed in a meaningful way in the playoffs. Their bench makes up smaller percentages of both the team's minutes and points than any other team in the playoffs.
Thibodeau doesn't trust his bench, and perhaps he has fair reasons not to. Although it would be wrong not to point out that Mitchell Robinson was arguably the Knicks' most impactful player in Game 5, scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.
Outside of the fear of injuries, Thibodeau should be turning to his bench, specifically Deuce McBride, for a very simple reason: he will make them better.
McBride to the rescue
First of all, the Knicks' starting five has not been good as a unit in the playoffs. In their 118 minutes, they have been a -13. Whether it is too many minutes, nagging injuries, the playoff physicality, or all three, something isn't working.
What could fix this is swapping Hart out for Deuce McBride. In the regular season, in 41 minutes, that lineup had a net rating of 7.29 and an offensive rating of 127. In the playoffs, we have seen that lineup for a total of one minute. In other words, Thibodeau hasn't given it a chance.
By comparison, the Knicks' traditional starting lineup had a net rating of 3.08 and an offensive rating of 120 in the regular season.
By most accounts, McBride hasn't been impactful in the playoffs. He is shooting just 26.9 percent from the field and 25 percent from three, while scoring just four points per game. But, what if McBride's value doesn't lie in what he is doing, but in what he does for others?
The success of a five-out lineup is clear in the 41 minutes discussed above, but what about what it does for individual players?
Brunson shared the court with McBride for 693 minutes this season. Brunson averaged 6.6 more points per 75 possessions with McBride on the floor while shooting 7.7 percent better from three and 11.2 percent better at the rim.
Adding another ball handler next to Brunson will make his life easier, or at least it should. It would also improve the spacing issues. Josh Hart's impact and value are clear, but he can still have that impact while coming off the bench.
An entire article could be dedicated to the flaws with the Knicks' roster construction and optimization. Of course, we are on the outside looking in. We do not have all the answers, but we least we are asking questions. Questions that the Knicks coaching staff does not appear interested in asking.