Tom Thibodeau responded to Mikal Bridges’ recent accusations and one former Knicks player’s criticism.
Many have criticized the New York Knicks for acquiring Mikal Bridges via a blockbuster trade. After all, the team paid a hefty price for him.
However, Bridges proved his worth during the Knicks’ thrilling 115-114 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Bridges sealed the game for his team with an OT buzzer-beater.
It sent Knicks fans into a frenzy, almost forgetting what Bridges said earlier about head coach Tom Thibodeau’s over-reliance on the starters.
Despite a recent slump, the Knicks remain one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season. The major credit goes to the starters on the team.
However, it’s also due to coach Thibodeau rarely awarding minutes to bench players on the Knicks. Bridges called this out recently and shared his honest opinion on it.
“Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways. I think he’s not arguing about it. Sometimes, I think he just gets in his ways, and he gets locked in. He just wants to keep the guy out there.
“Sometimes you’ve got to tell him, like Landry [Shamet], for example, or somebody, keep him out there, they’re playing well,” Bridges said.
It stirred up controversy as Bridges’ comments could very well ruin the team’s chemistry, albeit with clear facts backing up his statements.
Before the OT win over the Trail Blazers, coach Thibs was asked his thoughts on Bridges’ recent comments about the alleged over-usage of Knicks stars.
“For one, we never had a conversation about it. The facts are the facts. When you look at our team, and the way it works, Jalen [Brunson] plays 35 minutes, and I think he’s 20th or 21st in average minutes played.
“KAT, who is a primary scorer, plays less than Jalen. He’s like 25th in the league in average minutes. Your wings play more, right? They’re matched up with primary scorers,” Coach Thibs said.
He then further justified his logic: “The way it works, if Jayson Tatum is in the game or Jaylen Brown is in the game, OG [Anunoby] will be in the game, and Mikal will be in the game. When those guys go out, [our] guys go out.
“When they come back, [our guys] come back. We try to keep them matched up. If you look at the league, all those guys are playing 36, 37 minutes — whether it’s Durant, Tatum, Brown.”
He concluded: “The wings are going to play more. They are primary wings defenders. That’s the way it works. And then sometimes you’re caught in matchups.”
To be precise, Brunson is 18th in MPG (35.4), despite being sidelined with an injury vs the Lakers. On the other hand, Karl-Anthony Towns ranks 23rd (35.1) on the list.
On the contrary, Josh Hart and Bridges are No. 1 (37.9) and No. 2 (37.8) on the list, respectively. Coach Thibodeau’s usage could have a negative impact on the players come playoff time.
Amid the Bridges-Thibodeau controversy, former Knicks forward Channing Frye also took a jab at the head coach as he claimed the extended minutes are the root cause for the team’s injury trouble.
Coach Thibs blasted the assessment as well, asking: “Who?”, and when Channing Frye’s name was repeated back to him, commented, “Exactly.”
“He doesn’t understand our team,” he added.
Both sides have a compelling argument, but only time will tell who is correct. For now, the Knicks will focus on finishing the season with a strong run.
