Knicks players might be feeling the weight from playing long minutes
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, left, takes a foul as he drives past Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, right, during the first half of an NBA game Friday in Oklahoma City. Credit: AP/Kyle Phillips
CHICAGO — When a double-digit lead was erased as the Knicks fell apart in the final minutes Friday night in Oklahoma City, it was natural to wonder if they were just exhausted.
All five starters had logged more than 40 minutes, the first time a Knicks starting five had done that in a game since 2013. The Thunder bench had outscored the Knicks’ reserves 44-5, and if the Knicks looked gassed at the end, well, they were.
“I played over 40?” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It felt like it.”
While Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has absorbed criticism and questions over the years for piling up minutes on his starters, it’s an argument without merit. It comes mostly from those who don’t see the inner workings of how he’s adapted to the game and the schedule.
The casual look at the numbers are alarming. Aside from the 40 minutes played by every starter Friday in the front end of a back-to-back set, the Knicks entered Saturday with four players in the top six in total minutes played this season. Mikal Bridges is first, OG Anunoby third, Josh Hart fourth and Jalen Brunson sixth. Only Towns sits outside the top 10, ranking 16th in the NBA in total minutes played.
But the Knicks rarely practice, and as the season wears on, they even drop the lighter work of the morning shootarounds. They have opted for film and walk-throughs in a hotel ballroom. So adding a few more minutes in a game is countered by the rest days that might not have existed a few decades ago.
And the Knicks are limited in their options. Deuce McBride was sidelined Friday, Mitchell Robinson remains out of action and it was a night when Cam Payne didn’t match up well against the taller Thunder guards.
“You’ve got to read the game,” Thibodeau said Friday night. “Obviously we had an eight-point lead going into the fourth. You know the intensity of the fourth quarter is different. So we’ve got to be ready for that. We fell short tonight, but our bench is capable, more than capable. And our starters are more than capable. So we win together, lose together. We’ve got to refocus, get ready for tomorrow night [against the Bulls].”
The Knicks tried to buy a little breather for Brunson — who had been listed as questionable before Friday’s game with a calf issue — at the start of the fourth quarter, but that quickly changed as the lead disappeared in less than two minutes. After a timeout, Brunson was back on the floor. But there were no complaints afterward.
“At the end of the day, it don’t matter,” Hart said. “Fourth quarter you have to go out there and win the game. At that point, it’s just competitiveness and adrenaline pushing you through, so I’ve always said I want to be out there as much as I can. At that point, we’ve got to make sure we execute.”
Towns agreed, insisting that this is what he and his teammates train for, not just now but all year long.
“It’s all preseason diet, preseason working, your workouts, your lifting and the will to win,” Towns said.
“I’d lie if I said I wasn’t exhausted. I think the film shows it. But I was willing to do whatever it takes to get the win. I just wanted to put myself in a position to help my teammates win and continue to keep winning. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the job done tonight. It hurts, it stings.
“That’s the thing about NBA basketball: The games come every day. Got to refocus, get in line and get ready for Chicago.”
Notes & quotes: McBride, who has been nursing a sore hamstring since tweaking it Wednesday against Utah, warmed up on the floor Saturday after not taking the floor at all Friday. But after going through pregame work, he was ruled out.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
