Mike Brown Addresses Knicks' Minutes Monster

A New York minute might take on a whole new meaning with the New York Knicks under a fresh regime.

How the Knicks handle their workloads will certainly be under a larger microscope now that noted minutes monger Tom Thibodeau is no longer in charge. In his place is Mike Brown, who addressed the 60-second elephant in the room as his team prepared for a pair of Abu Dhabi exhibitions against the Philadelphia 76ers.

“The biggest thing is trying to make sure you watch everybody’s minutes instead of trying to chase games," Brown said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "There might be some games where maybe 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.”

May 2, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown (right) instructs guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs against the Utah Jazz at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Thibodeau was well know for riding his starters to the literal bitter end: while never one to complain about extended opportunities and doing whatever the team asks of him, Josh Hart admitted that he "didn’t have anything left in the tank" by the time sixth and final Eastern Conference Finals game against the Indiana Pacers rolled around.

Knicks fans need little reminder of Thibodeau's expansive shifts: Hart was second only to teammate Mikal Bridges in total minutes played last season while OG Anunoby was also in the top 10. All five regular Knick starters, with that trio joined by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, ranked in the top 20 in minutes per game.

Brown admitted that one of the most, if not the most, notorious defeats in NBA history is playing a role in his approach. A successful tenure as Steve Kerr's lieutenant in Golden State began in 2016, shortly after the Warriors won an NBA record 73 games in the regular season before bowing out in a seven-game set against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"From that point on, that’s when (Kerr) was like, ‘I’m not going to chase it anymore,’” Brown recalled in Bondy's report. “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."

True to Brown's point, Curry has not averaged more than 34.7 minutes per game since that bittersweet campaign and has won three more titles, all under Brown's partial supervision. He'll now look to duplicate such success in a larger role with the Knicks, who have retained every bit of the core that reached last year's final four.

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