It should come as no surprise by now that the Knicks lead the NBA in minutes played by their dynamic starting five by a considerable margin.
As some would say, why not?
They clearly now are at or near the top among all regular starting units in the league, with all brought to New York by team president Leon Rose over the past three years.
Some fans understandably view this as a legitimate concern about the team’s underutilized bench depth with more than half the season remaining as the calendar flips to 2025 and teams start to prepare for the playoffs.
Still, the sizzling Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau see it as an absolute strength that their starters have been alternately sharing the scoring load and playing at high levels of efficiency while synergizing on the court together.
Carrying an eight-game winning streak into Wednesday’s home game against the sinking Jazz, the Knicks finished December with a 12-2 mark — yes, albeit mostly against a soft scheduling patch — to improve to 23-10 overall.
That represents the fourth-best record in the NBA, and leaves them one game behind the No. 2 Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
The more accomplished defending champs probably still hold an edge over the Knicks as a starting unit when at full strength, but Kristaps Porzingis has been limited to 11 games this season by ankle issues.
Boston only has had their main lineup of Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday on the court together for a total of 85 minutes through 33 games, according to the NBA website.
Meanwhile, the quintet of All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, two-way dynamo OG Anunoby, sparkplug Josh Hart and newcomers Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges have totaled a league-best 561 together over 30 games in which they all have suited up.
Towns sat out twice and Hart once through Monday’s road win over Washington.
“We have a game plan that we’re just trying to go out there and win and we know we have a lot of weapons,” Brunson said afterward. “We’re going to go from there. We’re going to adjust. That’s everyone’s goal, to win the game.”
Bridges, the league’s current iron man with 507 consecutive games played to start his pro career, currently leads the league in minutes at 39.1 per game, with Hart fifth (37.1) and Anunoby 11th (36.3). Brunson and Towns also are averaging above 34 minutes apiece.
The next highest total for any NBA starting group belongs to the improved Rockets, albeit distantly behind the Knicks with 403 minutes logged together by Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green.
While the playing time doled out by Thibodeau has been extensive, the Knicks also are posting the prodigious statistics to back it up.
Overall, their starters — also including two starts by Jericho Sims and one by Precious Achiuwa — lead the league in offensive rating with 93.6 points per 100 possessions.
And they are third in Thibodeau’s favored stat, net rating (point differential per 100), behind only the NBA-best Cavaliers and the West-leading Thunder.
They also continue to do it all with unprecedented balance in the scoring column.
All but Hart among the Knicks’ customary five-man group have netted at least 40 points in a game already this season, making them the first team in league history to have four before Jan. 1.
And the aptly named Hart showed again Monday night why he’s such a beloved fan favorite with his third triple-double of the season (23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists) against his hometown Wizards.
Each of the Knicks’ five starters — of only 19 players to do so in the entire league through Monday’s action — also sport a cumulative plus-minus rating over +200 for the season, with Anunoby (+255), Bridges (+244) and Towns (+230) ranking fifth, seventh and 10th, respectively.
The Cavaliers, it stands to reason, boast six of those 19 players, although veterans Caris LeVert and Georges Niang are not regular starters for Cleveland.
“It’s all in the flow of the game. We see what’s going on and then we attack from there on,” Brunson said. “It’s not like a planned thing. We’re trying to win a game and whoever’s hot that’s who we’re going with.
“We’re in a good spot, where we can get better and we’re in a position where we are. Not complacent at all.”
