Mikal Bridges Reveals He Asked Tom Thibodeau to Reduce Knicks Starters' Minutes

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has always been known for relying on his starters and primary players for heavy minutes even during the regular season, but swingman Mikal Bridges asked him to reduce some of that playing time heading into the stretch run.

"Sometimes it's not fun on the body," Bridges said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "You'll want that as a coach but also talked to him a little bit knowing that we've got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don't need to play 48 (minutes), 47.

"We've got a lot of good guys on this team that can take away minutes. Which helps the defense, helps the offense, helps tired bodies being out there and giving up all these points. It helps just keeping fresh bodies out there."

Bondy noted former Knicks big man Channing Frye recently blamed Thibodeau for the Knicks' injuries, which was a significant problem in last season's second-round loss to the Indiana Pacers.

New York was without Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanović at times in that series and couldn't overcome so many setbacks. Brunson is currently sidelined with a sprained ankle that he suffered in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in which he played 41 minutes.

This season, Bridges and Josh Hart are tied for the NBA lead at 37.8 minutes per game. Anunoby is sixth at 36.6, while Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are also in the top 25.

Bridges has played all 64 games this season and has yet to miss a contest since entering the league in 2018.

"I think it's something you never really get used to," he said. "Your body is going to feel how it is every year. But I've been a part of it for a while, knowing how to take care of my body through those situations and just trying to do as much as I can."

While Thibodeau has been playing his starters for heavy minutes throughout a career that also includes stops as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, perhaps one of his primary players specifically asking him to dial down the playing time a bit will carry weight.

New York is the third seed in the Eastern Conference and 5.5 games behind the second-seeded Boston Celtics. It is also five games ahead of the fourth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, which means it will likely be the No. 3 seed come playoff time.

Given that fairly fixed spot in the standings, Bridges' request may inspire New York's head coach to change his approach so his players are fresher in the postseason.