When it came to the playoffs, they pushed the minutes. Hart played 42.2 minutes per game and Brunson played 39.8 minutes per game before getting injured. DiVincenzo saw his playoff minutes increase to 35.8 minutes per game. Regardless of the increase in minutes, DiVincenzo was grateful to have played an increase in minutes.
“With Tibs, you trust every decision and we were winning,” DiVincenzo said. “You can’t criticize him, we were winning. I think you get to the point where, like after the season, I felt like my body was really good. It wasn’t at the end of the year where I was like, gee, I’ve got nothing left. I know a lot of guys got hurt and all that, but for me personally afterward, I was like, gee, we were a game away.”
The Knicks were just one game away, despite Brunson suffering a season-ending hand injury. Even with the increased minutes, no player had any significant injuries. While Brunson’s was in Game 7 and unrelated to his injury, it shows that Thibodeau’s philosophy is working. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.