There was quite a lot of reporting about New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau and his insistence on pushing his gamers arduous all through the season.
It’s no secret that Thibodeau offers his stars quite a lot of minutes, and a few followers really feel that it in the end results in extra accidents and fatigue.
On Thursday evening, Knicks celebrity Jalen Brunson mentioned he was really grateful for the way a lot Thibodeau calls for of him.
Following his staff’s 118-116 win over the Detroit Pistons, Brunson talked about how he nonetheless had vitality on the finish of the hard-fought recreation.
“Simply completely satisfied Thibs performed me all these minutes within the common season. Bought me in form for the playoffs,” Brunson mentioned to the laughter of the press, by way of New York Basketball.
Fred Katz: “Below a minute to go, you get 2 buckets…Regarded like…everybody within the recreation kinda regarded gassed—and also you sped up…”
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Jalen Brunson: “Simply completely satisfied Thibs performed me all these minutes within the common season. Bought me in form for the playoffs” pic.twitter.com/LO3MdiERGs— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 25, 2025
When Brunson used to play for the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged 24.7 minutes per recreation.
Now in New York, he’s suiting up for about 35.3 minutes per match.
He’s not the one one who carries a heavy load, as a result of Thibodeau retains his gamers on the ground for a really very long time.
That is good in some ways as a result of he has a gifted group of starters.
However some folks say that it pushes their our bodies too arduous and results in them falling aside within the playoffs.
New York’s final postseason ended with quite a few accidents, together with one to Brunson.
Others say that Thibodeau’s method doesn’t enable the bench to get sufficient time on the court docket, leaving them unprepared for the depth of the playoffs.
Proper now, it appears to be working as a result of the Knicks are wholesome and so they maintain a 2-1 lead over the Pistons.
Nevertheless, will Brunson nonetheless be jokingly praising Thibodeau’s decisions if a plague of accidents hits the staff within the weeks forward?
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