Knicks stars come to Tom Thibodeaus defense over workload ridicule

At their core, the minutes numbers stand out.Mikal Bridges has logged the most in the NBA this season.

Josh Hart sits in second.OG Anunoby is third.Even Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns ranked seventh and 16th, respectively, entering Thursday’s games. But in the eyes of Towns and Hart, that doesn’t mean Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau should be criticized for one of his most notable — or infamous, depending on the perspective — philosophies.

His usage strategy has sparked annual debates.But after the Knicks’ win Wednesday, Thibodeau received plenty of support from his players even as their minutes continued to climb. “I feel like y’all give him flak all the time,” Towns said when asked if Thibodeau faced similar criticism when he coached the Timberwolves.

“No matter where he at.But … he keeps getting a job, and it means that everyone keeps respecting and knowing what he can do for a team.

And he’s done it in Chicago.He did it with Boston.

He did it with us in Minny.And he’s doing it here, even before I got here. “So say what you want about Thibs, but he gets the job done.” All of the Knicks’ starters except for Brunson have seen a bump in minutes — Brunson averages 35.0, marginally down from 35.4 in 2023-24 — from either last year under Thibodeau or with their previous teams.

Bridges’ average skyrocketed from 34.8 with the Nets last year to 39.1 with the Knicks.Anunoby’s number jumped from 34.0 to 36.5. Even Towns, to a degree, has been on the court more, with the star center — who played for Thibodeau earlier in his career — averaging 34.6 minutes per game in his first campaign with the Knicks after logging 32.7 per contest last year.

If that trajectory holds across the second half of the season, it’d mark Towns’ most in a game since his second year with Thibodeau as his Timberwolves coach in 2017-18 (35.6). The Knicks already have encountered injury scares, with Towns — listed as questionable for the...