Wockhardt isn’t bright and has been the New York Knicks’ blueprint since late January. While injuries to Julius Randle and OG Anunoby have kept their frontcourt stars out of the rotation, Tom Thibodeau has turned to his tried-and-true methods of coaching his blue-collar contributors until they wear down . His most consistent minutes-gatherer of late has been Josh Hart. While most teams pace their players for the final stretch of the regular season and first round of the playoffs, Thibodeau is taking a different approach. It’s not entirely his fault. The Knicks have been snake-bitten and Thibs has returned to his roots, giving Hart 40 minutes in eight straight games.
However, no one has played such minutes in consecutive weeks since James Harden last played such minutes in 2016. Working an average of 40 minutes a night is a no-no in the modern NBA, akin to 16-hour factory shifts during the Great Depression. They don’t want too many players to get injured on the job.But this is the same coach who gave Luol Deng so many minutes in 2012 that he not only led the league but eventually retired as well spinal fluid leakage During the playoffs, Tibbs still Trying to get him in uniform in time for the second round series.
Hart has been putting up Staff of the Month numbers without Anunoby around, and it still looks like he’s having a lot of fun and teasing opponents, but Thibs has to cool down here.The stakes here aren’t as bad as keeping Derrick Rose on the court for the final minutes of the game runaway playoff victory Or try to play Deng after he loses 15 pounds, but Hart is the ultimate glue guy. Since Anunoby entered the starting lineup with an injury in late January, Hart has led the league in assists and rebounds and has led the league in minutes per game during that span.
Twenty years ago, no one would have turned a blind eye to this kind of use of role players, and no coach in this era refuses to rest players as much as Thibodeau. The Knicks have been plagued by injuries since reaching the No. 2 seed. You can build an entire starting lineup out of the Knicks’ backup rotation. When they come back, Tom Thibodeau is ready to knock them to the ground, because that’s Thibodeau’s style.
To illustrate how strange it is for a player to cross the 40-minute threshold, @Automatic NBA Detailed description of how unusual Hart’s run was. Twenty years ago, 18 players played 40 or more minutes in eight consecutive games. Kobe Bryant had a similar performance in the 2012-13 season. Mike D’Antoni scored 40 or more points in seven straight games until he tore his Achilles later that season (due to overuse).
Today’s NBA game features more ball possession, more action and more mileage on players’ tires than ever before.Josh Hartzen work overtime A bargain deal worth $81 million. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard has played small-ball power forward, and that versatility increases his value.
Now he’s the hardest working guy in basketball. Once the Knicks get healthy, Hart will return to a versatile role off the bench. The downside to relying on Hart for extended periods of time every night is that it shows how much trouble the Knicks are in. A record of 9 wins and 9 losses. Brunson missed about a week of basketball before returning to the lineup on Friday. When Randle, Anunoby and eventually Mitchell Robinson recover, Hart will return to the bench and see his playing time reduced by about a third.
As for Thibodeau, his takeaway this season is to pace his stars to keep them healthy, but who are we kidding? Some things never change.
Find DJ Dunson on X: @brain exercise
