Mike Brown explains Knicks new minutes approach…
ABU DHABI, U.A.E. – To Mike Brown, not all victories are created equal.
He realized from his Warriors stint about the significance of pacing his gamers’ minutes for a championship run, about easing up on a evening in February because it would help in May.
Brown is now bringing that approach to the Knicks, who operated a lot in a different way the last 5 seasons under Tom Thibodeau.
“The biggest thing is trying to make sure you watch everybody’s minutes instead of trying to chase games,” Brown said after Tuesday’s observe in Abu Dhabi. “There could be some video games where possibly you throw the towel in early.
“It’s important to win, but you also have to understand, ‘Hey, I want to keep this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, this guy’s minutes here, instead of trying to extend everybody’s minutes. Because if the season is long, we don’t want anybody worn out by the end.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown arrives to the resort as half of 2025 NBA Global Games Abu Dhabi on Sept. 29, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
Minutes distribution predictably grew to become a third rail matter under Thibodeau, who has long been criticized for taking part in starters an excessive amount of and leaving them on the court in rubbish time.
“Throwing in the towel early” because it’ll protect vitality for later, as Brown explained Tuesday, wasn’t an option.
Thibodeau’s mantras of “everything matters” and “no lead is safe” underscored his approach to the common season.
But Brown witnessed a different tactic as an assistant with the Warriors for six seasons.
The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau after last season. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
When he was employed in 2016, Golden State had just accomplished the best common season in NBA historical past with 73 wins but ran out of fuel and misplaced in the Finals.
Steve Kerr then altered his approach, and the Warriors gained three more championships – all with Brown on the sideline.
“It kind of caught up to them (in 2016). And from that point on, that’s when (Kerr) was like, ‘I’m not going to chase it anymore,’” Brown said. “If we get it, we get it, but I got to make sure for Steph [Curry], if we want him to only play 35 minutes or average 35 minutes a game, then that’s what he’s going to average.”
There’s no official phrase yet on where Brown desires the Knicks starters to land on minutes per sport, but it’s a secure guess it’ll be fewer than last season.
With a thinner bench and Thibodeau in charge, New York’s beginning 5 led the NBA in mixed minutes by a large margin. Each averaged at least 35, while Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges eclipsed 37.
Was it a detriment to their playoff success? It’s onerous to attain that conclusion after the Knicks upset the Celtics and superior to the franchise’s first convention last since 2000.
But there was a noticeable bodily deflation against the Pacers, and an acknowledgement Tuesday from one important participant that he was totally drained.
“It was one of those things where I gave everything I have and I just didn’t have anything left in the tank,” Josh Hart said after Tuesday’s observe, including later, “my mind was there, but my body was a step slow.”
Hart led the NBA in minutes per sport last season at 37.6, but it was more than a load management issue. He dislocated his finger in the convention semis against the Celtics, hampering his shot. He also wasn’t ready for such a long playoff run because, at 30 years previous, Hart never beforehand superior that far.
This season under Brown, Hart’s minutes will probably lower dramatically – not just because of a teaching change, but also a different position and potential transfer to the bench.
Josh Hart arrives in Abu Dhabi on Sept. 29, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
Physically, he’s approaching this season with the expertise of his convention finals failure.
“I was always in good condition,” Hart said. “Trying to find areas to keep strengthening your body, finding areas where you can limit things — whether that’s rest or eating habits, stuff like that. Those kind of things. A tweak here, a tweak there. Not a crazy change you have to do, but it’s little tweaks and when you do that it helps.”
Brown is also serving to while tapping into that Warriors expertise.
“I got to help, too,” the coach said. “That’s one when I was fortunate, blessed and lucky to be in back-to-back Finals, go a couple of times where you had long seasons and you feel that the next season is right there on one you.”
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