\u201cYou try to sit \u2019em as long as you can,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBut if you feel the game slipping, it\u2019s my job to help us win in the best way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brunson is averaging a team-high 35.2 minutes, which is a little less than last season but more than Brown\u2019s stated goal of 34. <\/p>\n
In the past nine games, Brunson is averaging 36.8 minutes \u2014 which doesn\u2019t even count his 41 minutes in the NBA Cup last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to play,\u201d Brunson said Sunday. \u201cBut if Mike wants to do something, then obviously, we\u2019ll talk about it. I have utmost faith and confidence in him. But obviously, when I\u2019m out there, I want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without Brunson and Anunoby, the Knicks (19-8) face a tall task in Minnesota (19-10), where Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle are gaining momentum with nine wins in their past 11 games.<\/p>\n
![\"Jalen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/drives-court-second-half-new-117728735_1b1bfb.jpg\")
Jalen Brunson (11) drives down court during the second half when the New York Knicks played the Miami Heat Sunday, December 21, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n
Tyler Kolek, who mostly has played well starting in the Vegas portion of the NBA Cup, is in line for an increased role against the Timberwolves.<\/p>\n
Guerschon Yabusele (illness), Miles McBride (sprained ankle) and Landry Shamet (sprained shoulder) also are out.<\/p>\n
Brown surprisingly started rookie Mohamed Diawara when multiple starters rested last week\u2019s game in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
Yabusele logged his first healthy DNP in Sunday\u2019s victory over the Heat, the low point of a difficult season for the Frenchman.<\/p>\n
Yabusele, who signed a two-year, $11 million contract in the summer, was replaced in the rotation by Diawara, who logged four minutes off the bench.<\/p>\n
Yabusele had been trending toward DNPs after getting passed over for a starting spot last week in Indiana, where multiple rotation players rested after the NBA Cup. Diawara instead started at forward, and Yabusele managed just 11 minutes.<\/p>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/philadelphia-76ers-vs-new-york-117625912.jpg\")
New York Knicks forward Guerschon Yabusele #28 reacts after scoring during the first quarter. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n
He hasn\u2019t played more than 17 minutes in any game this season and is averaging a paltry three points on 39.4 percent shooting.<\/p>\n
Yabusele became trade eligible last week, and the expectation is the Knicks will try to unload the 30-year-old. However, Yabusele\u2019s value has been diminished due to the lack of opportunities and production.<\/p>\n
Yabusele has a player option for next season at $5.8 million.<\/p>\n
Mikal Bridges is again among the league leaders in distance traveled this season, a credit to a conditioning level that has been lauded as the best in the NBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like game shape,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cAnd I think just playing and playing, eventually you just get more stamina. Just each game, you keep getting better. I know you get a little tired and stuff. The lungs, I feel like I got pretty good stamina, but sometimes the legs, it takes some time. Running up and down, the legs start to get a little fatigued more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Bridges entered Monday second in the NBA in total distance covered at 74.4 miles. He was behind only Atlanta\u2019s Dyson Daniels, who has two more games played.<\/p>\n
Bridges was first in miles traveled last season (231 miles) and second in 2023-24, behind only Sacramento\u2019s Domantas Sabonis.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I be running,\u201d Bridges said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That\u2019s one way to keep minutes down. Jalen Brunson will rest Tuesday\u2019s game against the Timberwolves with \u201cright…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4777,21,9,11,1104,10,6474,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-78867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-jalen-brunson","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-headlines","12":"tag-new-york-knicks","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-og-anunoby","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}