In last night’s loss to the Cavaliers, Mikal Bridges played 17 minutes, took three shots, and finished with two points, two rebounds, and an assist. This was another disappointing performance in a season when we expected the wing to make his first All-Star appearance.
At his presser after the game, coach Mike Brown said: “Mikal is a starter, and so it’s not a question of that. He’s like a lot of players. They’ve had their good moments and their not-so-good moments. And Mikal has a proven track record
of playing at a pretty high level as a starter in this league. So, for me to make a quote-unquote panic decision and change it right now, we’re ten games in, or whatever we are, I’m not feeling it.”
And in the locker room, Jalen Brunson defended his teammate. “The people in this room have his back night in & night out. We see the work he puts into his game, […] Regardless of what the noise is on the outside, that’s our brother.”
Bridges is an iron man. Between college ball and the pros, he hasn’t missed a game. He’s also one of Jalen Brunson’s closest friends on the team, as a Villanova alum who won two national titles together. His mantle is full of pre-pro awards, and he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2022. Bridges is a world champion. With a lithe, long body, he’s a tremendous cutter, plays a terrific midrange game, and guards multiple positions well. He’s a career 48% / 37% / 84% shooter, averaging over 14 points and 1.2 steals per game.
In 2024, Brooklyn traded him to New York for a boatload of picks. In just over two seasons at his current home, he’s averaged more than 15 points per game and has been a fixture of the starting lineup.
He’s also been consistently inconsistent. There were times last season when we thought it might be time to sacrifice the games-played streak for a little RnR. After the first five games of the playoffs, we were ready to leave him behind in Atlanta. Then he went on an incredible run, and aside from faltering somewhat against the Spurs, he was essential to New York bringing home a championship. As we know, winning heals a lot of wounds. Those same fans who complained about the overpay soon took up a delirious chant about defiling those picks.
You cannot deny the man’s achievements—nor that he’s stunk so far this season. After a summer of celebration, the 30-year-old has started the current campaign with some of the worst play of his career. Eleven games in, his stats are 5.9 PPG, 33% FG, and 27% 3PT. These Knicks are notoriously late starters, often not hitting their stride until late in the first or even second quarter. Or the fourth. Cap joked about it on his SNL appearance. But this time, Mikal has no stride to hit. Lately, he has watched the fourth quarter action from the bench (very expensive seats, indeed).
Mike Brown is a supreme diplomat, saying all the right things at all times. Yet, Mikal is a starter because the coach chooses to start him. That’s the coach’s prerogative. The skipper could field someone else as the starting shooting guard—say Landry Shamet, who’s proven himself more than worthy. Why hasn’t he?
First, there’s a chemistry to the team that Mike Brown handles like plutonium. To disrupt the starting five by separating Kal from his ‘Nova brethren might yield positive results on the court, but could foment discord behind the scenes. A demotion could also further erode Bridges’ confidence, which would be bad for their long-term plans. Unless he’s shipped off before the midseason trade deadline (more musings on that below), the Knicks will need Bridges in shape physically and mentally for a deep postseason run.
Further, there’s the potential loss of reliable sparkplug off the bench. For a while now, Shamet’s been the most consistent in that role. McBride and Clarkson have certainly had their moments, too, but when Mike needs a sub AND a bucket AND defense, ShamWow has become his security blanket. When the score is close, Landry’s steady contribution makes it difficult to justify giving those two-guard minutes to Bridges in the final frame.
Here’s Brown again, from his postgame. “Yeah, part of it is we got two guys that are playing really well in Landry and Deuce, and so it’s hard. [… They] have been a big part of what we’ve done defensively. If they’re playing at a high level, I got to keep trying to find ways to get those guys on the floor.”
As Brown alluded, the Knicks have more guards than they need. Conversely, they remain light at the center position. They have Karl-Anthony Towns playing a career year, Andre Drummond backing him up with great rebounds and questionable shots, and . . . James Wiseman? Sometimes? Leon Rose & Co. are aware of this. They also know that in a trade for a big man of talent, they will need both a desirable player to offer and one whose salary helps to offset what’s incoming.
Obviously, Bridges is a nice guy. He’s not so diabolical as to throw his season to insulate himself from being traded. His sub-standard play does complicate trade opportunities. Another club that’s willing to part with a talented center will want to take on a positive, productive player, not a distressed asset with a lot of basketball miles on his wheels.
There’s also a not insignificant chance that the front office is totally cool with what they have and are unwilling to make a panic move, either. After all, the team that won the Finals did so with Karl-Anthony Towns, occasional Mitchell Robinson, and a sprinkling of Ariel Hukporti. If Brown can coach Wiseman up to Huk-level participation, then what’s the difference, really?
When asked about his playearlier in this short season, Bridges said, “Obviously we should be better than we are, me personally,” he said. “But it takes time and just not skipping steps.”He doesn’t sound panicked. Neither does Mike after 11 games. Nor Jalen, Leon, or the rest of the team. What about 15 games? 20? Can we run screaming down the street on December 1st? Ideally, Bridges gets right in Friday’s game against Indy, kills the conversation for the rest of the season, and we all look back and laugh. If this continues to be an issue, though, we’re very interested to see Mike’s next move.
Go Knicks.
