Mar 12, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; New York Knicks small forward Mikal Bridges (25) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) and guard Rayan Rupert (21) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images Soobum Im-Imagn Images

Mikal Bridges, Tom Thibodeau Meet Amidst Knicks Controversy

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Maggliocchetti | Last updated Mar 13, 2025 5:16 PM ET

Per SNY's Ian Begley, New York Knicks reps Mikal Bridges and Tom Thibodeau took some time to talk time prior to Wednesday's game in Portland.

Bridges made headlines when a report from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post declared that he had spoken with the head coach Thibodeau about cutting down on the Knicks starters' workload. Thibodeau later said that such a conversation had not been staged, but Begley's new intel states that a "productive" summit has since been staged.

"Tom Thibodeau wanted to talk to Mikal Bridges about his comments regarding minutes with the Knicks' starters and the Knicks' reserve earlier Wednesday," Begley said. "The two did meet and cleared the air about the the topic. I'm told it was a productive meeting."

Tom Thibodeau asked Mikal Bridges for a meeting prior to last night's Knicks-Blazers game following Bridges' comments on minutes, @IanBegley reports:

"The two did meet, and cleared the air about the topic. I'm told it was a productive meeting." pic.twitter.com/526Fj5SMFl
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 13, 2025

Bridges, long regarded as the NBA's modern iron man, reportedly asked Thibodeau to consider employing his bench more often, reasoning that it would prevent the complete game outputs so often found on the Knicks' ledgers. Bridges, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson all rank in the NBA's top 10 in total minutes entering Thursday night play.

“Sometimes it’s not fun on the body,” Bridges said, per Bondy. “You’ll want that as a coach but also talked to him a little bit knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48 (minutes), 47."

Bridges perhaps cut down on the potential controversy's lifespan with a dominant showing in the Pacific Northwest, as he scored 33 points in the 114-113 overtime win over the hosting Portland Trail Blazers. His last three came just before time expired in the extra session, as he sank a game-winning triple that helped New York (42-23) even its five-game road trip ledger at 2-2. The finale lands on Saturday night at Golden State (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

Begley said he would "be a little bit surprised" if Thibodeau made any major changes to his minutes distribution considering the way he has run metropolitan business for so long. Considering the way Bridges took over Wednesday night's proceedings, maybe further communication is the way to go for a Knicks group with larger spring aspirations.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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