{"id":161025,"date":"2025-09-30T11:35:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=161025"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:35:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:35:36","slug":"mike-brown-reveals-how-he-plans-to-manage-knicks-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/30\/mike-brown-reveals-how-he-plans-to-manage-knicks-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Brown Reveals How He Plans To Manage Knicks Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Mike Brown knows the challenge in front of him. The Knicks<\/a> didn\u2019t hire him to maintain; they hired him to push this team further than Tom Thibodeau ever could. Brown brings championship experience from Golden State, where he saw firsthand how minute management can shape a season.<\/p>\n

Mike Brown Reveals How He Plans To Manage Knicks Minutes<\/h2>\n
\"Josh
Feb 8, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson talks with New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11), forward Mikal Bridges (25), and guard Josh Hart (3) during a timeout in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During his Warriors<\/a> tenure, he learned that easing up in January pays off in May. He now brings that philosophy to New York, which for the last five seasons leaned on Thibodeau\u2019s grind-it-out approach. Brown said<\/a> after Tuesday\u2019s practice in Abu Dhabi, \u201cThe biggest thing is trying to make sure you watch everybody\u2019s minutes instead of trying to chase games.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThere might be some games where maybe you throw the towel in early.\u201d The message was clear. For Brown, the focus isn\u2019t just winning on a Tuesday night\u2014it\u2019s preparing for June.<\/p>\n

Breaking from Thibodeau\u2019s Blueprint<\/h3>\n

This approach marks a sharp break from Thibodeau\u2019s philosophy. Thibodeau often left starters on the court during blowouts. His mantra was simple: \u201ceverything matters\u201d and \u201cno lead is safe.\u201d That approach wore down his teams.<\/p>\n

Brown saw the same thing happen in Golden State. After the Warriors\u2019 crushing 2016 Finals loss, Steve Kerr changed course. He stopped chasing regular-season wins at all costs. Brown recalled, \u201cIt kind of caught up to them (in 2016). And from that point on, that\u2019s when (Kerr) was like, \u2018I\u2019m not going to chase it anymore.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That adjustment led to three more championships. Mike Brown was there for all of them, and he plans to replicate that balance with the Knicks minutes this season.<\/p>\n

A Deeper Bench Means More Rest<\/h3>\n

Leon Rose rebuilt the bench this offseason, giving Brown more tools to limit workloads. Last season, New York finished last in bench scoring. That forced Thibodeau to rely on his starters more than any team in the league. Every starter averaged at least 35 minutes. Josh Hart<\/a> and Mikal Bridges<\/a> both cleared 37.<\/p>\n

Hart admitted the toll was real. \u201cIt was one of those things where I gave everything I have and I just didn\u2019t have anything left in the tank,\u201d Hart said<\/a> after practice. \u201cMy mind was there, but my body was a step slow.\u201d Even Hart, who famously logged four complete games in the 2024 playoffs, couldn\u2019t keep pace.<\/p>\n

Bridges Speaks Up<\/h3>\n

Bridges also recognized the wear. Last season, he reportedly approached<\/a> Thibodeau privately about trimming his minutes. He was averaging nearly 38 a night, often staying in long after games were decided. Bridges asked for short breathers during stretches of the second and third quarters, hoping to stay fresh for closing minutes. His request showed even ironman players had limits.<\/p>\n

Brown has taken note. With Mike Brown’splan to distribute minutes more, Bridges should see his workload dip, preserving his legs for the postseason.<\/p>\n

The Road Ahead<\/h3>\n

The strategy is simple: pace the stars, rely on depth, and trust that fresher legs win in June. Brown\u2019s insistence on pace<\/a> remains, but he wants his team running at full strength in May, not limping into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Knicks may not be chasing the regular-season win column like in years past. But with Mike Brown\u2019s new approach to managing minutes, the knicks could finally have the gas to chase something bigger.<\/p>\n

Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Mike Brown knows the challenge in front of him. The Knicks didn\u2019t hire him to maintain; they hired him to push this team further than Tom Thibodeau ever could. Brown brings championship experience from Golden State, where he saw firsthand how minute management can shape a season. Mike Brown Reveals How He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":160772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,12,3],"tags":[50244,1004,1484,3717,49503],"class_list":["post-161025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-knicks","category-news","tag-2025-26-nba-season","tag-josh-hart","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-mike-brown","tag-nba-training-camp"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161027,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161025\/revisions\/161027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}