A few things are holding New York back through nine games. Bridges’ play on both ends has been one of them.
I know we are all feeling uneasy about the squad right now. The two Knicks’ group chats I’m in on Twitter are filled with some depressing messages. My timeline is filled with a lot of anguish, resentment, criticism (of players, Thibs, and Leon), and, the weirdest one of all, remembering the past fondly.
am i the only one or the vibe is js different? pic.twitter.com/PlCDPeRzXh
— abutta (@luckinmb7) November 11, 2024
By the past, I mean 2022. Did we not miss the playoffs that year? So, I want to start this off by saying what I have tried to reiterate to everybody who is groveling:
You don’t win a championship in nine games. There are still 73 left, and by the looks of it, all but two teams in the East are in a slug to start the year. If the Knicks were in the West, maybe you have more urgency. Slow starts by Orlando, Philly, Milwaukee, somewhat Indiana, and Miami have allowed me at least to take a breather and not stress too much.
Another important thing is that this comes with the territory. You remember the last couple of teams fondly because expectations were muted. The 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons were fun because of overachieving. Last year was fun because of their resilience through a mountain of injuries (and their otherworldly January). You wanted to be a contender, this is what you get.
One last thing, slow starts are normal. The Knicks have only had one positive start to a season under Thibs and they missed the playoffs:
2020-21: 5-8 (finished 41-31)
2021-22: 7-4 (finished 37-45)
2022-23: 5-6 (finished 47-35)
2023-24: 5-5 (finished 50-32)
They need time to gel.
Speaking of, one of the people who needs to gel for things to turn around is the subject of this article: Mikal Bridges
Bridges was always going to be unfairly evaluated this season. When you surrender four unprotected picks, a pick swap, and a suddenly valuable 2025 Bucks pick for a dude, you expect more than what you’ve gotten.
At the surface level, Bridges is averaging 15 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. That’s below what we want, but it’s fine if Hart and Anunoby continue to consistently average 14 and 16 PPG, respectively. Bridges is also shooting an alright 46.7% from the field and a near-career-best 62.7% from inside the arc. What’s the problem?
Bridges’ jumper was highly publicized as he struggled in the preseason and in the first half of the season opener. For a while, it looked like it fixed itself, but Bridges is now shooting just 31.7% from three, heavily impacted by being 5-for-24 over his last three games.
Bridges is actually providing needed volume for the Knicks from deep, as nobody else seems to be willing to throw up more than five a game. The issue is that if you aren’t making those threes, it’s not very helpful.
It’s been odd. Bridges is shooting 10% of his shots at the rim and half of his shots behind the arc. He’s really leaned into the midrange so far, knocking them down at a high clip (68.8% on mid-range).
This is a good ol’ fashioned clank. If it feels like Bridges has been incapable of making any non-corner 3s, you aren’t delusional. Bridges is shooting a dreadful 15.2% on above-the-break threes. Of his seven attempts from 3 a game, 3.7 are from there.
Nobody wants to be stuck in the corner but that is where Bridges is actually able to make shots. He’s shooting over 50% in the corner this year, and the Knicks need to be looking to do this more, especially down the stretch of games. The Knicks have one of the worst fourth-quarter offenses and fail to generate any open 3P looks (they went 23 minutes without a three vs Indiana). More of this down the stretch of games, please.
His mid-range shot just looks so smooth. Some headcase Nets fans said he was like KD in that regard (both lanky forwards with smooth jumpers) and you can see it with those two shots. As awful as it may sound from an analytical perspective, Bridges should be looking to trade some of the above-the-break threes for these kind of shots when he has the ball in his hands. He can get to his spot pretty easily and he’s been draining them. More threes are good but not when you can’t make them.
Offense, overall, isn’t a big issue for the Knicks. Even with chemistry issues and their struggles late in games, they’ve still been one of the best offenses in the league, It’s the defense that is causing them some issues.
Granted, they haven’t had a massive issues with perimeter defense this season. Outside of the Boston game, the Knicks have put the relative clamps on opposing offenses, but the Pacers bombarded the Knicks late in Sunday’s defeat.
Unfortunately, there is a recurring issue that involves Bridges.
Here, Bridges gets stuck on a screen.
Bridges has had a massive issue navigating screens. Here, he goes under and apparently there’s no communication on what should be a switch. Garrison Matthews killed the Knicks that night.
The problem is that even when he’s getting over the screen, you get something like this. Trae Young goes in a circle and KAT is in drop. This is a structural issue, but I wanted to show where Bridges doesn’t mess up on a screen.
It’s also just effort/mental lapses. A few times in this Hawks game he unnecessarily doubled or just stood around with a loose ball.
Bridges is too often getting played with by the ballhandlers. He’s off-balance and KAT playing drop leads to another open look by Turner. Against a five-out offense, there’s a big structural issue.
This is a structural issue. Drop works when you have a non-shooting big man, but when the center is going straight back to the three-point line, KAT is suddenly stuck in the paint and Bridges is unfortunately in a lose-lose situation.
Last clip. Come on. Bridges tries to counter them exploiting drop by going under to keep KAT on the perimeter. Guess what? You can’t do that! Haliburton walked into the dagger!
How Do We Fix This
Bridges hasn’t been awful defensively, statistically. Opponents are shooting 46.1% against him, which is better than league average. The issue is how we prevent these open looks, but that is more focused on drop coverage and defending against five-out offenses.
The Knicks’ worst defensive performances this season have come against the Celtics and Pacers. KAT is struggling defensively but if Bridges is going to guard the ballhandler most possessions, this cannot happen.
Bridges has the worst plus-minus on the team as well. He is the only regular with a negative net rating. The lineups with him and the bench aren’t working. In the most used non-Brunson lineup, the team has a 100.0 offensive rating, a ghastly total. If the Knicks are going to turn this around, Bridges is going to have to do a better job against screens, fix his shot distribution, and be willing to take charge offensively when Brunson rests.
The worst the offense does without the captain, the less rest he’s going to get.