"He ain't want these hands": Josh Hart dares to joke about Tom Thibodeau after Knicks HC plays him 39 minutes
Tom Thibodeau is a head coach who demands heavy minutes from his players and New York Knicks star Josh Hart discussed this in the "Roommates" podcast with Jalen Brunson. With the podcast airing just airing its first episode, Hart's comments about his coach seemed to affect his minutes in the Knicks' next game.
At the 19:44 mark, Josh Hart was asked how many minutes he played in their previous game. He answered "42," while mocking Brunson's minutes played of 45.
The Knicks' most recent opponent was the Dallas Mavericks, where they lost by 14 points, 108-122. In this game, Josh Hart was a starter and with a lot of injured players was expected to play more minutes. Instead, Hart just logged in just below 39 minutes as he contributed a triple-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Commenting about the minutes played, Josh Hart had a quick response only why he was limited to only 39 minutes:
"Thibs saw the pod and played me 39… he ain’t want these hands."
The New York Knicks were short-handed because of the recent trades of Quintin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn and Ryan Arcidiacono. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby were also injured in that game, leaving Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, who played 43 minutes, with a huge load.
Tom Thibodeau's minute management of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the New York Knicks starters
Tom Thibodeau is widely regarded as one of the premier coaches in the league, however, he also carries a reputation for extending the playing time of his starters.
This was reminiscent of the situation involving Derrick Rose during his time with the Chicago Bulls. There, the former league MVP's injury was attributed to Thibodeau's decision to keep him on the court even after the outcome of the game had been determined.
Speaking on the "Morning Woodward Show," Lindsey Hunter analyzed the recent Pistons-Knicks game and felt that the Knicks won't be able to compete down the stretch:
"Playing for Thibs is difficult and that's why I laugh at the Knicks fans that they are going to do something in the playoffs because they're going to be burned out. Thibs is going too run that team in the ground," said Hunter said at the 10:39 mark.
"Thibs is so concerned about his defensive efficiency. He's going to leave his starters as long as possible to make sure that his defensive efficiency doesn't take a dip."
In the 2023-24 season thus far, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Julius Randle have logged the highest minutes for the New York Knicks, each playing 35 minutes or more per game. In Rose's MVP year, he was playing an average of 35.3 minutes per game while Luol Deng was at 39.4.
Josh Hart played 39 minutes in the Knicks game against the Mavericks and four other players had 40+ minutes in the loss. So far this season, Hart has started only 12 times in the last 53 games and has only logged 29.5 minutes.