Tom Thibodeaus Knicks load management stance isnt changing

CHARLESTON, S.C.— The injury avalanche of last season, which was probably the main reason the Knicks succumbed in the second round to the Pacers, won’t prompt Tom Thibodeau to adopt a new philosophy for body preservation.“Every team has injuries.

You just deal with them,” the Knicks coach said Wednesday when asked if there might be a strategic shift this year to prevent injuries.“That’s part of pro sports.

So some years you don’t have any injuries, some you do.So whatever your reality is, you deal with it.”Thibodeau has never subscribed to load management or punting regular-season games for rest.

If a player is healthy, the expectation is he suits up.Thibodeau’s minutes distribution was also skewed heavier toward his best players than most NBA teams, with the Knicks finishing second in starters minutes per game at 165.1, behind only the Bulls, according to StatMuse.As Thibodeau alluded, injuries weren’t a major issue during his first three campaigns as Knicks coach.

Of the regular starters, only Mitchell Robinson missed significant time.Last season was the comeuppance.Four starters — Robinson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson — underwent surgeries.

Randle, Anunoby and Robinson missed at least 25 games apiece.They combined to miss 24 playoff games.Robinson still hasn’t recovered and will sit until at least December, probably longer.The circumstances bolstered critics of Thibodeau’s all-in, all-the-time philosophy, a reputation that carried him to become the three-time defending champion of The Athletic’s player poll question, “Which coach would you not want to play for?”Despite the outside rep and injury barrage last season, Thibodeau’s anti-load management stance has been supported by his Knicks players and at least one of them — Josh Hart — said Wednesday that he’s also not changing.“That’s for the media to sit there and cry about,” Hart said.

“I’ll never go into a game and think I’ve got to pac...