Mikal Bridges’ transition to the New York Knicks has certainly come with its challenges, but he’s starting to find his rhythm after a period of adjustment.
After being traded from Brooklyn to New York over the summer, Bridges has taken on new roles on both ends of the floor. Offensively, his responsibilities have shifted significantly.
According to Chris Herring of ESPN, Bridges is handling the ball far less than he did with the Nets. His touches are down nearly 20%, and his usage rate is the lowest it’s been since his last full season in Phoenix.
On defense, Bridges has often been tasked with guarding smaller players, specifically point-of-attack defenders rather than bigger wings. As a result, he’s spent more time navigating screens against quicker, smaller guards.
A Western Conference scout noted that early in the season, teams targeted Bridges in these matchups, knowing it would take some time for the Knicks’ defense, especially with Karl-Anthony Towns now at the rim, to fully gel.
“If you got past him initially, you could force all sorts of aggressive rotations,” the scout said, reflecting the early lack of defensive cohesion.
However, despite these adjustments, Bridges’ offensive game has started to click. Since December, he’s been averaging 20.0 points per game on strong efficiency (.523/.385/.757 shooting).
His scoring outburst has helped offset the initial struggles, and he’s now finding more comfort in his role with the Knicks. He’ll face his old team on Tuesday when the Knicks visit Brooklyn for the first time this season, a game he seems to be looking forward to, as he noted, “It’ll be just good to be back.”
As for the Knicks overall, there have been some health updates that could impact their rotation moving forward.
Towns, who has been nursing a thumb injury, returned to the lineup on Monday after missing two games. Josh Hart, who had been dealing with a neck issue, also played after being listed as questionable.
Both players are expected to be available for Tuesday’s game in Brooklyn, as reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
Additionally, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau expanded his rotation in Monday’s win over Atlanta, giving Landry Shamet 10 minutes off the bench, something Ian Begley of SNY.tv pointed out.
The move benefited Bridges, whose minutes were scaled back to just 27, well below his season average of 38.7 minutes per game — marking a rare dip in his workload.
“It’s nice, man. We got a lot of players, 1 through 15. So it’s good,” Bridges said.
On the injury front, Mitchell Robinson continues to improve his fitness after struggling with conditioning issues due to injuries. He’s now down to 265 pounds, according to Bondy, which is a significant improvement after previously being listed at 268 pounds.
There’s optimism within the organization that Robinson could return to action as early as mid-February, which would be a major boost for the Knicks defensively.
The pieces are starting to fall into place for New York, and with Bridges settling in, they could be poised for a strong second half of the season.
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