Thursday Night PrimeTime Report – 3/13/25

Here is tonight’s Thursday Night PrimeTime Report:

Yankees

The Yankees played a couple of split-squad games on Wednesday, losing to Baltimore at home 6-2 and to Pittsburgh on the road 1-9.

Gerrit Cole underwent a successful Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, receiving a complete UCL reconstruction that includes internal bracing to reduce inflammation and improve recovery time. Cole is expected to recover in 12 months.

Giancarlo Stanton’s elbows are expected to heal as soon as Memorial Day, per Jon Heyman, but that is an optimistic return date. Stanton is also nursing a chronic calf injury as he waits for his elbows to heal.

The Yankees also beat the Tigers 8-6 in Lakeland this afternoon.

Knicks

I don’t care how many minutes Mikal Bridges plays, as long as he can come up clutch in overtime.

On Wednesday night in Portland, with four seconds remaining in overtime, the Knicks led the Trail Blazers 111-110 as Deni Avdija darted through the paint. Mitchell Robinson stuck his right hand in the air to block his shot, but Avdija collected the rebound. Josh Hart threw his right hand over Avdija’s arms to cover his second attempt, but to no avail as the shot was successful and Avdija drew a foul. Avdija completed the three-point play to give Portland a 113-111 lead. The crowd was on its feet with 3.4 seconds remaining in overtime.

Mikal Bridges inbounded the basketball to Josh Hart from the right wing, and Hart passed it back to Bridges, who had already scored 30 points. Bridges sprinted to the top of the key and thrust a three-point shot toward the basket with one second remaining. As the buzzer sounded, the basketball slipped through the hoop! Bridges won the game for the Knicks! The entire bench ran across the court to congratulate him.

The Knicks now have Jalen CLUTCHson and MiCLUTCH Bridges!

Bridges’s performance on Wednesday was especially intriguing because of the controversy he was involved in before the game. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is notorious for playing his starters for extended minutes well beyond league average. I have criticized Thibodeau for this before because if he hasn’t led a team to a championship since he was an assistant coach in Boston in 2008.

Before last night’s game, Bridges asked Thibodeau to reduce his minutes. Bridges explained, “Sometimes [playing extended minutes isn’t] fun on the body. […] 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.” A disagreement between a player and coach usually consumes the headlines, but then this story got more interesting.

During Thibodeau’s pregame press conference on Wednesday, he denied ever having a conversation with Bridges about his minutes. “The facts are the facts: Your wings play more, so they’re matched up with primary scorers. So the way it works is if Jayson Tatum is in the game and Jaylen Brown is in the game, OG will be in the game and Mikal will be in the game. […] Try to keep the matchups. When you look at the league, all those guys are playing 35, 36 minutes,” said Thibodeau. “That’s the way the league works.” It’s also worth noting that some Knicks players, like Josh Hart, never want to leave games. Also, with Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride healthy, minutes per game will decrease throughout the starting five.

As the NBA’s Iron Man, Bridges knows how to care for his body. “Your body is going to feel how it is every year, but I’ve been a part of it for a while, knowing how to take care of my body through those situations and just trying to do as much as I can,” said Bridges. “I think [Thibodeau isn’t] arguing about [my minutes]. Sometimes I think he just gets in his ways and he gets locked in.”

Bridges is one of the best defenders on the Knicks, and his offensive production has slumped in recent weeks. With Jalen Brunson injured, though, many players, including Bridges, have been scoring more points per game than usual. That’s what happens when a star-studded team’s leading scorer misses time.

Ultimately, I agree with Bridges. I believe that if given the chance, other wings on this team can play effectively on both sides of the ball. However, for every minute Boston or Cleveland’s starters are on the floor, each Knicks starter needs to mirror them.

In Wednesday’s game, the Knicks had a biggest lead of eight points while Portland had a biggest lead of five points. The score was tied 14 times with 42 (yes, 42) lead changes and a longest run for nine points.

Giants

The Giants have been active in NFL free agency thus far, signing players and making trades. With the third overall pick in this year’s draft, it appears unlikely the Giants will be able to draft Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. Regardless, the Giants seem eager to sign a veteran quarterback.

First, there’s Aaron Rodgers. The former MVP will likely head to Pittsburgh, but he has yet to decide. I do not want the Giants to sign him because he carries a lot of bad PR that the struggling Giants don’t need. He is also a shell of his former self.

Next, there’s Russell Wilson. Wilson is scheduled to meet with the Giants on Friday. He met with Cleveland on Thursday. Wilson is the best available option. Let’s see what John Mara, Joe Schoen, and Brian Daboll tell him tomorrow.

Finally, there’s Joe Flacco, who met with the Giants today. If Big Blue fails to land Wilson, I predict they will sign Flacco over Rodgers. Flacco provides a strong veteran presence, but he did not offer much support to Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis. Ironically, Indianapolis just signed Daniel Jones to pair with Richardson at quarterback.

The Giants have signed corner back Paulson Adebo, safety Jevón Holland, defensive lineman Chauncey Goldston, linebacker Chris Board, offensive tackle James Hudson III, offensive lineman Stone Forsythe, and defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris. They have resigned wide receiver Darius Slayton, wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, quarterback Tommy DeVito, punter Jamie Gillan, tight end Chris Manhertz, outside linebacker Tomon Fox, and long snapper Casey Kreiter. They have also agreed to terms with offensive lineman Aaron Stinnie.