A starting player on the New York Knicks is volunteering for someone to take more of his playing time. The Knicks are No. 3 in the Eastern Conference with a 41-23 record.
With the playoffs upcoming, small forward Mikal Bridges admitted that he’s had conversations with head coach Tom Thibodeau about the team’s starting players fewer minutes and playing the bench more often, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
NBA News: New York Knicks starter wants fewer minutes
“Sometimes it’s not fun on the body,” Bridges said. “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.”
At 28, Bridges is averaging playing 37.8 minutes a night. He’s played in 64 games for New York. The No. 10 pick in the 2018 draft is averaging 17.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
Mikal Bridges says coach Tom Thibodeau gets in his ways
Bridges said Thibodeau “gets in his ways.”
“I think he’s not arguing about it,” Bridges said. “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 played 43 minutes in each of the Knicks’ losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers last week. He played 34 minutes in the Knicks’ 133-104 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Maybe playing Bridges less would be better for New York.
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