Knicks opposition to resting starters helping build valuable cohesion

Jalen Brunson understands the NBA All-Star Game needs to be more competitive. He also understands that any injury in the All-Star Game would be devastating and run contrary to the messaging/direction of the league. “We’re in the era of load management,” Brunson told The Post.“So if somebody gets hurt out there — knock on wood — but there’s a lot of what-ifs out there in a game where the franchise is putting a lot on a player.

And if they go out there and play hard and something happens, obviously you hope it doesn’t happen but, what do you do?” The NBA put itself in a quandary, and that’s partly because most teams don’t operate like the Knicks. In this time of rest and “ramping up” and “re-evaluation in 2-4 weeks” and “injury maintenance,” Tom Thibodeau’s squad is again the leader in availability.More than a third of the way through the season, the starters have missed a combined three games. That’s just a regular week for Zion Williamson or Kawhi Leonard. No five-man group in the NBA has logged more minutes together than Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. They’ve played 459 minutes as a unit.

The Rockets’ starters are No.2 at 372 minutes heading into Sunday.

In other words, the Knicks starters had played the equivalent of nearly two full games more than any other group. If you pay for a Knicks game ticket, you can feel safe their stars will be in uniform.Three of the top five players in total minutes played this season are Knicks.Part of that is because of the lack of depth — their bench is dead last in minutes and scoring — and the other part is just The Thibs Way. As long as the Knicks are healthy, it’s a workable strategy.

The benefit is a cohesion that is developing nicely in the holiday season, with the Knicks (18-10) winning eight of their last 10 and suddenly hitting their defensive stride. “The pieces we added, the pieces brought back, it’s a recipe for succ...