What happened between Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau? New York Knicks’ starters minutes debate explained | NBA News

Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau. Image via: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks star Mikal Bridges and head coach Tom Thibodeau have recently made headlines. The player and the coach were at the center of attention around playing time. Mikal Bridges recently opened up about the heavy minutes load on the team’s starters. However, his comments sparked an unexpected back-and-forth with head coach Tom Thibodeau, who straightway denied any conversation about reducing playing time ever took place.

Tom Thibodeau denies Mikal Bridges’ claim about New York Knicks’ starters’ minutes

Ahead of the New York Knicks’ matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, Mikal Bridges told reporters that he had spoken with Thibodeau about easing the burden on the starters by utilizing the bench more.
“I’m a starter and I’ll play a lot of minutes,” Bridges admitted. “Sometimes not fun on the body. But you want that as a coach, but also talk 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, 47 (minutes). We’ve got a lot of good guys on this team that can take away the minutes, which helps the defense, helps the offense, helps tired bodies being out there and giving up all these points. It helps us keeping fresh bodies out there.”
Bridges’ claim got a wide response from fans as it quickly became the subject of discussion among fans. However, Thibodeau denied all the claims made by the 28-year-old star.
Hours later, following the Knicks’ 114-113 overtime victory over Portland, Thibodeau was asked about Bridges’ claim. His response was immediate and firm: “For one, we never had a conversation about it.”
Thibodeau then defended his approach to minutes distribution, noting that the league’s top wing defenders, including Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, all play significant minutes. “The facts are the facts: Your wings play more,” Thibodeau explained. “So they’re matched up with primary scorers. When those guys go out, (our) guys go out. When they come back, (our guys) come back. We try to keep them matched up.”
Certainly, Bridges let his game do the talking. In his 41 minutes of play, he delivered a clutch performance, finishing with 33 points, including the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
“He hit the shot. He’s the man of the hour, for sure,” Karl-Anthony Towns said of Bridges’ heroic moment. “Got the ball and was confident. And I think what was better about the shot is he just missed one and had the confidence to get it again and shoot it again. And to take a tougher shot.”
The minutes issue remains a hot topic. The debate got further attention after Bridges being at the center of the debate. Thibodeau’s coaching history suggests he is unlikely to alter his rotation drastically, but again, the Knicks’ bench showing promise, so speculatrion is on the air that there could be slight adjustments moving forward.
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Bridges is now focused on his future games and his athletic abilities. “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.”