Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks load management stance isn’t changing

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The injury avalanche of last season, which was probably the main reason the Knicks succumbed in the second round to the Pacers, won’t prompt Tom Thibodeau to adopt a new philosophy for body preservation.

“Every team has injuries. You just deal with them,” the Knicks coach said Wednesday when asked if there might be a strategic shift this year to prevent injuries. “That’s part of pro sports. So some years you don’t have any injuries, some you do. So whatever your reality is, you deal with it.”

Thibodeau has never subscribed to load management or punting regular-season games for rest. If a player is healthy, the expectation is he suits up.

Thibodeau’s minutes distribution was also skewed heavier toward his best players than most NBA teams, with the Knicks finishing second in starters minutes per game at 165.1, behind only the Bulls, according to StatMuse.

As Thibodeau alluded, injuries weren’t a major issue during his first three campaigns as Knicks coach. Of the regular starters, only Mitchell Robinson missed significant time.

Last season was the comeuppance.

Four starters — Robinson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson — underwent surgeries. Randle, Anunoby and Robinson missed at least 25 games apiece.

They combined to miss 24 playoff games.

Robinson still hasn’t recovered and will sit until at least December, probably longer.

The circumstances bolstered critics of Thibodeau’s all-in, all-the-time philosophy, a reputation that carried him to become the three-time defending champion of The Athletic’s player poll question, “Which coach would you not want to play for?”

Despite the outside rep and injury barrage last season, Thibodeau’s anti-load management stance has been supported by his Knicks players and at least one of them — Josh Hart — said Wednesday that he’s also not changing.

“That’s for the media to sit there and cry about,” Hart said. “I’ll never go into a game and think I’ve got to pace myself or not play as hard as I’m supposed to. At the end of the day, I go out there for every game I play, pray to my Lord and Savior for protection, and I go out and play this game as hard as I can. … I’m not worried about burning out or taking a day off.”

At 29, Hart is the oldest player in the Knicks rotation but also among the more durable. Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns are bigger injury concerns.

And with the blockbuster trade that shipped away Donte DiVincenzo and Randle, the Knicks lost some depth — or injury insurance.

On this topic, Thibodeau abandoned his well-worn line of “I’m concerned about everything.”

He’s confident in the bench and clearly not going to changetenstio coaching approach to preserve healthy bodies.

“I’m not worried about our depth. I actually like our bench a lot,” the coach said. “If you look at the things that our guys have done, and I’m not exactly sure who it might be, but Landry [Shamet] has been on a team that’s been at a high level, Cam [Payne] has been on a team that’s won at a high level, Deuce [McBride] has provided a lot for us over that time. Precious [Achiuwa] has been in a lot of big games for us. And then one of the starters is going to be there with them. So I feel that our bench is going to be a huge asset for us.”