With the 2024-25 NBA season approaching its halfway point, certain members of the New York Knicks are on pace to make history the team does not want under head coach Tom Thibodeau. Four members of the Knicks' starting lineup are top five in the NBA in total minutes played this season.

The four Knicks players who made the list are Mikal Bridges – leading the league in minutes played with 1,592 – Josh Hart with 1,500, OG Anunoby with 1,492 and Jalen Brunson with 1,397. The only player in the top five who is not a Knick is Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, coming in at No. 4 with 1,422 minutes played.

The Knicks' starting five is averaging 180.9 minutes per game this season, putting it on pace to be the sixth-most-used unit since the 1976-77 merger.

Sitting at 26-15, a record good enough for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, it is difficult to say that things are not working for the Knicks. Their depth, however, must be called into question when there is only one non-starter on the team, Miles McBride, who is averaging more than 20 minutes per game.

The Knicks might want to look into upgrading the quality of their bench before the trade deadline on Feb. 6.

Who could the Knicks add?

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The Knicks need help on the defensive end of the floor as they sit No. 15 in the NBA in defensive rating at 112.7. One name that the Knicks have been linked to is Washington Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas.

Valančiūnas averages 19.8 minutes per game off the bench for the Wizards. He averages 11.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 55.8% from the field.

Valančiūnas could solve part of the Knicks' defensive and depth problems as he would give them another option behind Karl-Anthony Towns. New York will need to figure things out on defense if they want to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.