The New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers will face off on Wednesday night and both teams may be without one of their stars.

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Coming off a crushing overtime loss to the LA Clippers, the Sacramento Kings host the New York Knicks on Monday for a huge cross-conference matchup. The Knicks are riding a three-game losing streak, but are still in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 40-23 record.

One of the big criticisms of New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau appears to be an issue once again. Knicks forward Mikal Bridges admitted that he asked Thibodeau to ease off his minutes. However, he suggested part of the reason is he feels the Knicks’ bench deserves more opportunities to impress.

New York Knicks star forward Mikal Bridges made an odd request to his head coach, Tom Thibodeau. Bridges told Thibodeau to 'back off' a bit in the starters' minutes because the bench deserves more. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post shared in his column on Wednesday.