VDesai wrote:Up till last week Thibs was still starting Precious at the 4 with OG out rather than using Deuce and going small. I still think he has some hesitancy to go too small and that's why so many have been clamoring for more Deuce, but I think with Mitch back it seems he's more willing to surround Mitch with more "smalls."

What I also like about what he's been doing is more offense/defense match up substitutions to close games or quarters. Mitch/Deuce/OG defender trio is great - add Mikal to that and you can either hid Brunson out there if you're out of timeouts and its an FT game, or have Hart in there if you can make a timeout and you need rebounds/loose ball gathering.

I noticed that as well. He wasn’t doing that when he first came, maybe it was personnel or growth as a head coach but I like it. The only issue is rebounding. We have smalls in the game to get a stop or advance the ball. But after we get that stop we got killed on the boards in a crucial moment of the game. But for the most part it works and most coaches are doing this well.

I always thought precious at the 4 was a trial run for the twin tower rotation. But you might be right. With Mitch back there, Thibs can rely on a 3 or 4 guard lineup which he has done before.

VDesai wrote:Up till last week Thibs was still starting Precious at the 4 with OG out rather than using Deuce and going small. I still think he has some hesitancy to go too small and that's why so many have been clamoring for more Deuce, but I think with Mitch back it seems he's more willing to surround Mitch with more "smalls."

What I also like about what he's been doing is more offense/defense match up substitutions to close games or quarters. Mitch/Deuce/OG defender trio is great - add Mikal to that and you can either hid Brunson out there if you're out of timeouts and its an FT game, or have Hart in there if you can make a timeout and you need rebounds/loose ball gathering.

Could be as simple as Deuce wasn't 100% or Thibs and staff wanted to see what they had in a Precious/KAT front court. Deuce brings punch off the bench, Precious is not that type of player.

The Knicks biggest weakness is rim protection IMHO. Unfortunately, Precious is not that and Knicks gave him a solid chance to prove himself.

https://nypost.com/2025/03/12/sports/why-mikal-bridges-asked-tom-thibodeau-to-play-knicks-starters-less/

“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.”

“I think he’s not arguing about it. Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways and he gets locked in. He just wants to keep the guy out there,” Bridges said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tell him, like Landry (Shamet), for example or somebody, keep him out there, they’re playing well.”

That last quote reminds me of what I been saying about Obi. I understand Randle is better but this specific game he is clearly outplaying randle on both ends. Why did you take him out? Why did he only get 10 minutes in a game he is perfect from the field and plus 12 on the floor? Finally!

Clean wrote:I been seeing a lot of people call Bridges soft on social media but being the only player with the balls to call out Thibs(while on the same team) and to do it in public so it can't be ignored says a lot to me.

It takes confidence and balls for current players to call out an old school coach like Thibs, due to immediate repercussions.

Let’s see how this affects tonights mins distribution. I’m wondering if Mikal gets less or more mins moving forward.

But I’ve always wondered why Thibs is so rigid with this, when a player has it going. He’s doing better but clearly there’s more room for improvements. First I was thinking maybe it prepares starters for heavy playoff mins. But even in the playoffs there are times when we will need deuce or other bench players to play more, or close out games. Even shams, who fans hate. But what if he’s hot snd starters are not?

I hope Thibs doesn’t purposely give Mikal less or more mins, just to prevent others from speaking up. Just feels like an old school coach response. Mins police will be watching 🧐

Clean wrote:I been seeing a lot of people call Bridges soft on social media but being the only player with the balls to call out Thibs(while on the same team) and to do it in public so it can't be ignored says a lot to me.

Love that Bridges spoke up and you can bet, he is not just speaking for himself but for others in that locker room. I'm sure there have been plenty of conversations behind the scenes amongst the players. Happy that Bridges stepped up to the plate but at the same time, I wonder why this isn't coming from the captain or another Knick thats been in the locker room longer than 64 games...

Clean wrote:

Uptown wrote:

Clean wrote:I been seeing a lot of people call Bridges soft on social media but being the only player with the balls to call out Thibs(while on the same team) and to do it in public so it can't be ignored says a lot to me.

Love that Bridges spoke up and you can bet, he is not just speaking for himself but for others in that locker room. I'm sure there have been plenty of conversations behind the scenes amongst the players. Happy that Bridges stepped up to the plate but at the same time, I wonder why this isn't coming from the captain or another Knick thats been in the locker room longer than 64 games...

Brunson is too close to Thibs just like Leon Rose. They are biased as well.

IMHO Brunson got to. Same with KAT but the both too nice.

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/CynicalNYK/status/1899921710637351028

GustavBahler wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:I have no problem with Bridges or anyone making suggestions to the head coach but keep it in house and private! Why let the media and fans know? He's now broght unnecessary drama and distraction! If I'm Thibs I'm massively pissed!

Maybe they tried.

I have mixed feelings. I might go to Leon through my agent.

joec32033 wrote:I am going to preface my post with this. Bridges was the ONLY trade I wanted made for this year, I figured with the chemistry and fit it was really the only move worth messing with the team.

That being said, was it really necessary to go to the media? And now there is an article on the front page of Thibs denying a conversation happened? Never a fan of involving people who don't need to be involved in team or family matters.

Also, was this REALLY the best time to bring this up? They just lost Brunson for a while so the bench was going to get used anyway. So far Brunson, Hart, and KAT have said the minutes thing is over blown.

I've been all about giving Mikal chances. Never bought into the he sucks stuff. But this here starts to change my mind on his fit. I've held the opinion that sometimes dude acts a little too goofy on the court that doesn't measure up to his level of play.

I won't quote you all but I don't think one player justifies any real opinion in Thibs.