In a surprising move, New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown played Mikal Bridges for only two minutes and 49 seconds in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s NBA Cup final against the San Antonio Spurs.
During Amazon Prime Video’s live broadcast, Stan Van Gundy and Dwyane Wade suspected that Bridges was possibly hurt as he was seen sitting at the end of the bench, with the Knicks giving Jordan Clarkson (9:31) and Tyler Kolek (10:20) extended minutes in the final period of the game.
It turns out Bridges was not hurt, and Brown just played Clarkson and Kolek over him and Josh Hart, as the bench players provided quality minutes with their production. To that end, Clarkson and Kolek combined for 14 fourth-quarter points, while shooting 50% from the field. While Kolek made his imprint with his defense and hustle, Clarkson made two crucial threes in the final period that proved to be game-winning daggers.
Bridges finished the game with 11 points (4-of-12 FG), five rebounds and five assists.
Mike Brown Trusts His Bench
Unlike his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau, Mike Brown has empowered his second unit throughout his first season in charge of the Knicks, and did so again on Tuesday. While Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby clocked over 40 minutes, six other Knicks players appeared in 18 or more minutes — a stark contrast to Thibs’ top-heavy rotations.
Also worth noting is that the Knicks were without Miles McBride, arguably their best bench player all season, and still got healthy production from their second unit.
Depth is Key in Modern NBA
As the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers proved during the NBA Finals last season, depth is extremely vital to success in the ultra-fast pace of the modern NBA. Both teams routinely went to 10- or 11-man rotations in the postseason, bucking the longstanding trend of shorter rotations in the business end of the NBA season.
The Knicks are positioned to make a similar run in the 2026 playoffs if Brown continues to trust his bench. Brown credited his second-unit players for fueling the NBA Cup win after some of his starters struggled, and Towns got banged up in the third quarter.
“During the course of the year, you try to find situations to put pressure on your group,” Brown said, via ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill. “This is a single-elimination tournament when you get to a certain point. Every game counts. There’s pressure on every game if you expect to be who you think you are.”
“That pressure is manufactured without you as a coach having to try to do it all the time,” Brown added. “When you’re able to have success doing it, it breeds confidence in everybody within the organization. That can propel you come the right time when you’re in that environment to be able to handle the pressure because you’ve already been through it.”
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