The first three games of what was the most highly anticipated Knicks season of the last 25 years have gotten off to an overall successful, but very imperfect start.
Mitchell Robinson has yet to appear in a game, Josh Hart, despite still being a terrific rebounder, has sported a jump shot that has somehow looked worse than it already had, Deuce McBride has missed a game due to personal reasons, Karl Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby has looked shaky on the offensive end, and the bench duo of Jordan Clarkson, and Guerschon Yabusele, who were supposed to be positive contributors, have been anything but.
That being said, the Knicks are 2-1, have beaten a Cavaliers team that will be in contention with them for the first seed in the east, are getting really good looks offensively, and have done all of that despite the aforementioned concerns. But maybe the biggest surprise, and the biggest highlight of the young season, has been none other than Mikal Bridges.
Yes, the same Bridges that spent the overwhelming majority of last season as the fanbase’s number one target. The same Bridges that was inconsistent defensively. And the same Bridges that never truly found his rhythm offensively.
Three games into the season, though, Bridges has looked like the second-best player, and it hasn’t been particularly close. While Towns still sports better counting stats, and Anunoby has a legitimate argument for being the best defensive player on the planet not named Victory Wembanyama, Bridges has been a revelation, and his two-way play is a big reason the Knicks are 2-1.
The 29-year-old wing is averaging 16PPG, 5.3RPG, 4APG, 1.7SPG, and 1BPG, while shooting an incredibly efficient 56.3% from the field, and a blistering hot 50% from three. For reference, all of those numbers besides points per game would be career-highs for him. Now, it’s unreasonable to expect Bridges to maintain some of those numbers. The blocks per game, field goal percentage, and the three-point percentage are almost guaranteed to see some negative regression. But it isn’t just the stats that have fans excited about Bridges’ second season as a Knick.
Through the 107 minutes he’s played so far, it’s clear that something is different. Whether the rumors that he was one of the players who advocated for a coaching change are true or not, Bridges has come into this season looking more confident, more comfortable, more aggressive, and, at least so far, looks like he’s having more fun. If you are weary of jumping on the “Bridges Revenge Season” train, I do not blame you. Three games are not a large sample size by any means. But I, for one, am on board and am even ready to apply to be the conductor.
I went into last season believing Bridges would be good, not great. And what we got was something between good and average on most nights. But after a coaching change that was likely going to benefit him, I made the risky decision to not just continue believing, but to buy more Bridges stock. While parts of last season were hard to stomach at times, it was just very difficult to ignore his six prior seasons. And so far, I’ve liked what I’ve seen, and my return on investment is looking pretty good.
Compared to last season’s disappointing campaign, he’s averaging just 1.6PPG less despite averaging four less shots per game, is making the same amount of threes per game (two), despite averaging 1.6 less attempts per game, is getting to the free throw line more, and interestingly, he’s also been tasked with initiating the offense more, which has helped take Brunson off the ball more.
While we’ve yet to see the Knicks play a team that can apply more consistent and physical pressure, when Bridges and the Knicks do this, so far, it’s led to some really good looks, and should pay dividends later on in the season, as Brunson will have to do a bit less.
The shooting uptick, the increased playmaking, and the early-season shot-making have been fun and nice to watch. One thing that has really popped off the screen is his defensive play. To be fair, it can’t be ignored that some of that defensive improvement has coincided with McBride playing with the starters more.
Having McBride take on the difficult and unenviable task of being the point-of-attack defender, something he is exceptional at, has taken some of the burden off of Bridges, and has allowed him to slip into more of a wing defender role-something he is much more comfortable and better at.
But even when McBride isn’t on the court, and even when he is defending at the point-of-attack, the energy and physicality with which he is playing on that end of the floor cannot be understated.
Again, it is too early to tell if this is a flash in the pan, or if this will be a season-long theme. But with Brunson, Towns, and Anunoby being pretty consistent players, Bridges remains one of the biggest x-factors any contending team has.
So far, it has been incredibly encouraging to see him not only taking the requisite steps to be the player so many fans thought they were getting, but flourishing in year two as a Knick, and year one under a coach that seems to be utilizing him in new and different ways. I can see a world where I find myself writing a “What happened to Mikal Bridges’ hot start?” piece in four weeks, but I can also picture myself writing a “Why Bridges deserves to be an All-Star” post then too.
For my sake, and all Knicks fans’ sake, let’s hope it’s the latter.
