Is Tom Thibodeau overusing his starters? Knicks players' minutes broken down

It's no secret that New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau favors his starters when managing minutes and rotations. Thibodeau is one of the few old-school coaches in the NBA, keeping a strict practice schedule even as many coaches tend to lean toward a lighter practice approach.

Thibodeau is doing something right with his rotation management, though, leading the Knicks to a seven-game win streak and 12 wins in their last 14 games.

Entering Saturday night's matchup versus the Washington Wizards, New York's starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns is leading the NBA in minutes played for any five-man rotation. New York's starting group leads the NBA in minutes, with 539 total minutes played, 149 more than second place.

When narrowing the lineups down to four players, the Knicks have five of the leading four-man lineups in total minutes played.

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How many minutes did the Knicks' starters play versus Washington?

The Knicks ran with their traditional lineup of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns. As expected, the starters logged most of the minutes.

Thibodeau featured a nine-man rotation, with his starters claiming 216 of a possible 266 minutes spread across the lineup.

Bridges led the way in minutes for New York, playing in 47 of a potential 48 minutes of game time. Towns and Brunson were second in minutes, with 44 for each player. OG Anunoby notched up 42 minutes, while Josh Hart recorded 39 minutes, the least of any starter.

Precious Achiuwa and Miles McBride led New York's four-man bench in minutes, with 19 minutes apiece. Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet rounded out New York's nine-man lineup, recording six minutes each.

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How many minutes per game do the Knicks' starters play?

Three of New York's five starters rank in the top-10 in minutes per game, with Mikal Bridges leading the way in the entire NBA.

Here's a look at New York's starting lineup's minutes distribution per game:

Player	Minutes Per Game	NBA Rank
Jalen Brunson	34.9	T-20th
Mikal Bridges	39.2	1st
OG Anunoby	36.4	T-8th
Josh Hart	36.9	5th
Karl-Anthony Towns	34.2	T-26th

Tom Thibodeau's starters play more than any other starting lineup in the NBA, and the four-man rotation off the bench averages 14.46 minutes per game.