Twenty games into this new season, it’s safe to say the Mikal Bridges trade hasn’t met expectations thus far.
The Knicks shipped out six first-round picks to unite the former Villanova Wildcat with some of his college teammates, then dealt his backup to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, putting major faith in Bridges as a core piece of their championship hunt.
And why wouldn’t they? Bridges is just two years removed from nearly winning Defensive Player of the Year and one from blossoming as Brooklyn’s lead offensive option. While he’s had some standout moments like a game-sealing block on his former team and a 31-point outburst against New Orleans, the overall results have been underwhelming.
Bridges is shooting 33.1 percent from three, and an abysmal 21.5 percent from above the break, an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance after tweaking his jumper over the offseason. While he’s been very efficient from two-point range, he’s lacked aggressiveness driving the ball and looking for his offense, taking only 13 free throws so far this year.
But the biggest issue has been his defense, which after regressing mightily last season, is still working to recover. His physicality and point-of-attack denial look like career worsts, which is reflecting in the team’s performance, as New York holds teams to 10.7 fewer points per 100 possessions when Bridges is on the bench.
All of this is moot if Bridges and the Knicks are holding up the Larry O’Brien Trophy come June, but if Bridges plays like this, that scenario is extremely unlikely to come true.
What can the Knicks and Bridges do to turn his game around?
For starters, there’s always the “just shoot better” trick. Bridges’ three-point diet isn’t different in any material way compared to his positive seasons – he’s largely getting open looks and enough volume to be in rhythm.
His three-point shooting should come around on its own in time. He’s been lights out from the corners, making nearly half of his shots from there, a good sign that will hopefully begin to translate to other spots on the floor.
Bridges should get more easy looks to get his rhythm going. We saw a few random cuts lead to free layups against the Pelicans; more off-ball activity like that can help.
One issue may be the starting lineup trying to figure out how to balance Bridges and OG Anunoby. Both are capable scoring wings on and off the ball, but are especially dangerous spotting up or attacking quickly off the catch.
Because of that, we can sometimes see them run into each other as both cut into open space, or observe one get a larger portion of threes depending on which side of the court defenses are helping off more. The hotter one will get more of the dump-off, “go create something” opportunities, which has obviously favored Anunoby in these first few weeks.
Perhaps getting Bridges more on-ball reps with the bench units can help him get in a groove. Only 31 possessions this season ended in a Bridges pick-and-roll, shaking out to one or two a game, when he’s shown more ability there.
Whichever way the Knicks approach it, Bridges should be getting more rim-runs and free throws just to see the ball go through the net. His free throw rate is laughably short of his career numbers, drastically lower than even the years he was fully resigned to his 3-and-D role.
Bridges likes to get within eight feet of the rim and go to his patented mid-range fadeaway, which has connected at an extremely high rate, but you’d like him to be more physical and determined when getting to the cup. That also applies to his approach defensively, which is still coming along.
With Towns in the middle and Jalen Brunson at the point, the only way this Knicks defense was going to string together enough stops was if Anunoby and Bridges played up to their All-NBA Defense selves. That hasn’t been the case yet for the latter, but recent games show improvement.
Bridges used to be an incredible stopper, but at times this season he’s simply looked like a turnstile, clearing the way for opposing ball-handlers. In his defense, Tom Thibodeau has largely saddled him with guarding the opposing team’s most dynamic guard or wing, leaving Anunoby to wreak havoc with his help defense.
But that’s also why the Knicks traded all these picks for him, and with his diminished offensive role one would hope his defensive play would pick up. It does take time for some guys to grow accustomed to Thibodeau’s system, but his help defense and rotations haven’t been the issue so much as staying in front of his man and getting through ball screens.
Whether it was pride, effort, or some other unknown factor, the hope is this part of Bridges’ game also comes around, as we’ve seen in recent games. He stonewalled Dejounte Murray in that 31-point game and his screen navigation has been improved.
It’s unclear whether the right schematic change will do the trick, but Bridges’ slow start is a major storyline following the Knicks through this early season. Turning it around is pivotal to getting this potential contender playing up to its ceiling.
