With just 13 games left to go in the regular season, it’s go time for the New York Knicks. The boys in orange and blue have won their last three outings, and after a lengthy west coast road trip, should be excited to stick around the eastern time zone for their next few games.
As the playoffs become more and more in focus, it’s imperative that the Knicks are playing the best ball towards the end of the year. You want to be peaking at the right time. Brunson, Towns, and Anunoby have all been playing up
to their standards. Mitchell Robinson has been attacking the glass hard. The bench has had a lot of different contributors as of late.
The most noticeable absence from that list, of course, is Mikal Bridges. And what a glaring absence it is.
Over his last six games, Bridges is averaging 6.5 points per outing.
That’s not a typo. Soak it up. 6.5 points. That’s nearly a first-rounder given up per point at that rate. Are we serious?
Bridges, shooting 32% from the floor and 21% from three over that span, has been playing just over 26 minutes per night over the same period of time. He’s been benched in the fourth quarter multiple times. While he still delivers a steadying presence on the defensive end, the man who once averaged over twenty points per game has now turned into an offensive afterthought.
In general, it’s indicative of a season-long regression. Bridges’ average points have decreased from 17.6 to 14.8 between his two years as a Knick – still very solid, but for the blockbuster price New York paid for him, they just had to be expecting more. He has little to no aggression with the ball in his hands, and when the fadeaway jumpers aren’t falling, things get ugly fast.
Remember, Bridges was hailed as the missing piece when New York traded for him. He was the last of the Nova Knicks, destined to become a part of Madison Square Garden lore and propel the Knicks into championship contention.
Yes, New York may be viewed as a contender, but the reality of the situation is that it’s not because Bridges came in and elevated the level of play.
After last year’s playoffs, we’ve seen Bridges show up in the biggest of moments while under immense scrutiny. I’ll take any opportunity I can get to link these.
You could argue that the two plays above made the trade worth it alone. I don’t know if you’d be right, but you certainly could argue it, and I certainly would have to smile as I imagined the first two games of the Knicks-Celtics series last year. Bridges is a dog. He has it in him. We all know it. However – and most importantly – if this year’s Knicks want to win a championship, they’ll need Bridges to at least revert to the levels he played at last postseason to go on a true run.
The fate of New York may be in his hands, and a championship push might ultimately be dependent on which version of Mikal Bridges shows up in the playoffs. He has thirteen more games to figure it out before we see for ourselves.
