Josh Hart celebrated their win over the Philadelphia 76ers and his fewer minutes played.
The small forward has been playing more than 40 minutes since the All-Star break out of necessity after losing OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and Julius Randle to various injuries.
Hart is thankful that OG returned to the team after missing all their games since January 27. He scored 14 points to help the team trash the Sixers, 106-79.
Candace Parker, for her part, is not amused by the minutes the core of the team is playing this regular season. She thinks the players might be too exhausted by the time the playoff round comes.
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Maybe Tom Thibodeau's game plans will change once Julius Randle returns.
The question, though, is whether Randle is ready for a comeback.
His return is still not yet on the horizon, based on the update given by Thibodeau.
Quoting the Knicks head coach, SNY's Ian Begley said Randle's conditioning is going along well. However, there is still no timetable for his return.
"He's shooting, doing individual work, that's all good. He can do 5-0; that sort of thing. Light contact with the pads," Thibodeau said.
He added that strengthening Randle's shoulder is the next stage but since he uses that part of his body a lot, they have to wait for him to get cleared for contact before he gets to join full practice.
Randle himself is wary about his recovery, saying he is also thinking about the future.
"I like how I feel today as far as getting better, feeling stronger, progressing to where I need to be, as far as getting on the court," he said last month.
"But I'm never somebody to say never. So, ultimately, I have to do what's best for myself to have a long career, have longevity in this."
Randle's recovery can't be rushed
Tom Thibodeau knows something about players re-injuring themselves after a premature return.
The team is not rushing his recovery, even though he already lost a $1.28 million bonus for officially not reaching 65 games.
He is now allowed for light and "controlled contact" and will join the team on their road trip in the next seven days.
What does this mean for the rest who are available? Big-minutes games.
Thibodeau needs to think long-term, too. He needs to tone down his comments about Hart, Jalen Brunson, and Donte DiVincenzo's minutes.
Candace Parker made a good point about his players' minutes.
Since the All-Star break, several of the starting five members have missed games due to muscle stress since Anunoby, Randle, and Robinson became unavailable.
The team acquired several players mid-season, all of whom are considered instant contributors. Maybe he can relegate some of the minutes to Precious Achiuwa, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, and Shake Milton.
Of course, given the situation in the East, it is hard to deviate from the game plan that has been winning them victories.
In their next nine games, they will face four teams above .500, all from the Western Conference. The other five are deemed easy games.
Players and fans must brace themselves as the end of the regular season approaches. They should also hope that the lineup is healthy by playoff time.
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