The Tom Thibodeau Minutes Police has a new deputy: Mikal Bridges.

The Knicks' Iron Man and owner of the NBA’s longest consecutive games streak said he asked the head coach to consider cutting back on the starters' minutes, arguing the bench players deserve more time on the floor.

"Sometimes it’s not fun on the body," Bridges said on Wednesday, via The New York Post's Stefan Bondy.

"You'll want that as a coach but also talked to him a little bit knowing that we’ve got a good enough team where our bench guys can come in and we don’t need to play 48, 47 [minutes]," he continued. "We’ve got a lot of good guys on this team that can take away minutes. Which helps the defense, helps the offense, helps tired bodies being out there and giving up all these points. It helps just keeping fresh bodies out there."

Bridges, who has appeared in 538 straight games since he entered the league in 2018, is playing a career-high 37.8 minutes per night in his debut season with the Knicks after coming over in a trade this offseason that saw five draft picks head across the East River to the Nets.

On the season, the Knicks have three players in the Top 10 in the NBA in total minutes with Jalen Brunson (2,162; 10th) and Josh Hart (2,307; 2nd) behind Bridges (2,420; 1st). And when going by minutes per game, Hart matches Bridges for the top spot in the NBA in that category with OG Anunoby (18th most minutes overall) coming in sixth most at 36.6 per night. Brunson is the fourth New York starter in the Top 20 of that category at 35.4 minutes per game.

Before Wednesday's game in Portland, the head coach said a conversation with Bridges did not take place and defended his minutes distribution.

“We never had a conversation about it,” Thibodeau said, via The Athletic's James L. Edwards. “The facts are the facts. When you look at our team, and the way it works, Jalen plays 35 minutes, and I think he’s 20th or 21st in average minutes played. [Karl-Anthony Towns], who is a primary scorer, plays less than Jalen. He’s like 25th in the league in average minutes."

Thibs continued that since wings like Bridges and Hart are matched up against the other team's wings, often a team's best players and primary scorers in the modern NBA, they will be called upon to play in the mid-to-high 30s in minutes each night. He added you wouldn't play reserves against the likes of Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown.

"The wings are going to play more," the head coach said. "They are primary wings defenders. That’s the way it works. And then sometimes you’re caught in matchups. The Lakers are big wings, so sometimes you deal with that.”

Bridges said the head coach was receptive to the idea, but the veteran said he thinks that Thibs is a bit set in his ways.

“I think he’s not arguing about it. Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways and he gets locked in. He just wants to keep the guy out there,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to tell him, like Landry [Shamet], for example... keep him out there, they’re playing well.”

(Shamet in 32 games this year is averaging just 11.8 minutes, the lowest in his seven-year career.)

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