As the Knicks join the long list of New York sports teams that have been decimated by injuries, Tiki says it is time to stop blaming head coaches or bad luck.
At some point, it's on the player to stay healthy and build themselves up to withstand the grind of a long season.
"We know what Tom Thibodeau wants to do. He wants to shorten his rotation," Tiki said. "And if you're a player on the Knicks, you have to know that. So when you go into your offseason, and you start training for the upcoming season…you have to start preparing yourself for the grind you're going to get. Your grind in New York is different than what you're going to get in Miami.
"When your coach is gonna demand that you play 35-40 minutes every single night, you have to start preparing your body for that. I can't keep blaming Thibs."
Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart are just a couple of the Knicks role players that have seen their workloads skyrocket as New York plays shorthanded, and Tiki says they need to be prepared for Thibodeau's demanding style, just like Giancarlo Stanton needs to better prepare himself for a 162-game season on the diamond.
"At some point, it becomes your responsibility to stay healthy," Tiki said. "You can blame the coach or the grind or all these different things, but at some point, it's your responsibility. I remember this as a player, because I couldn't stay healthy early in my career…a part of it became on me. I remember consciously making the effort, finding a big strength and conditioning coach…and he changed my mindset to preparing for seasons. All of a sudden, I became durable, never missed games, became strong as an ox, I got better, faster, all of these things. Ultimately, it was on me to do it.
"I get tired of having to use the excuse of 'coach just ran him into the ground'…when ultimately, it has to be on the player. He's got to have the pride to prepare himself for the grind that he knows is coming."
