Kevin Garnett rips 'stubborn' Tom Thibodeau as Knicks starters toil away

To the surprise of no one, four of the top five minutes leaders this season are Knicks starters — Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson. The difference between Bridges' total minutes (1,635.9) and sixth-placed Tyrese Haliburton (1,416.1) equates to nearly five games of a player clocking all 48 minutes.

If the Knicks starters continue to log this many minutes, they are bound to be out of gas during the second half of the season. Even worse, they could endure injuries. They experienced the same fate last season when nearly half the roster was unhealthy for the playoffs, leading to an upset second-round loss to the Pacers.

Will history repeat itself? 

Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett levied heavy criticism on Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau for his unwillingness to trust his second-unit players. On his "KG Certified" podcast, Garnett didn't hold back on his former Celtics assistant coach.

"The data is probably telling you the starting five is playing way more minutes than the average starting five in the league. So I'm sure he's heard this. Bro is so stuck in his ways that he he knows how to win one way," Garnett said of Thibodeau. "...If I'm Karl-Anthony Towns or [Brunson], I'm pulling Thibs in the room and say, 'Hey look, this is [not right]. Thibs is so stubborn, though, that I don't know."

Garnett argued that Thibodeau's coaching philosophy could have worked in the 1990s and early 2000s, when teams played a different style of basketball. However, he believes every team needs a reliable nine- or 10-man rotation in the fast-paced modern NBA. 

To Garnett's point, Thibodeau has shown very little faith in the Knicks' second unit of Precious Achiuwa, Miles McBride, Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet. The Knicks are dead last in the league in bench scoring (20.4) and bench minutes (11.9). In comparison, the top-seeded Cavaliers get almost double the points (38.3) from their second unit on a nightly basis.