Mikal Bridges understands why he watched most of the fourth quarter from the bench.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau pulled Bridges 3 minutes and 45 seconds into the fourth quarter in favor of Miles McBride in an eventual 99-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
The decision marked the second time Thibodeau pulled Bridges in the fourth quarter during their five-game road trip, the first occurring 1 minute and 57 seconds into the fourth quarter of a 121-106 loss to the Utah Jazz.
Bridges shot 3-of-15 from the field for seven points in Utah. He was 3-of-10 from the field for eight points in 37 minutes in Charlotte on Friday before Thibodeau opted to roll with McBride, who finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from off the bench.
“Obviously I’ve got to play better. With the opportunities I get, I need to convert,” Bridges told reporters at this locker after the game. “I had a lot of sloppy turnovers, a couple times getting scored on. I just have to be better.”
Bridges’ play will be under the microscope due to the steep price the Knicks paid to acquire him from the Nets.
The Knicks traded five total first-round picks and hard-capped themselves at the second apron in order to strike a deal with Brooklyn. Draft pick compensation of four picks or higher is typically reserved for players who hold superstar status.
As a result, not only is Bridges being measured against the price the Knicks paid to acquire him, but to compound matters, he’s also playing below his own personal standards.
If he were to keep this scoring pace and efficiency, his first season with the Knicks would mark the worst three-point shooting season of his career and his lowest scoring output since his 2021-22 season with the Phoenix Suns.
“I think I’ve been inconsistent,” he said. “You just have to find a rhythm within the team. We’re not even 20 games in yet, so we’re still trying to figure things out.”
The Knicks, of course, continue to have faith.
They believe Bridges will ultimately find his rhythm and revert back to the player he’s been all his career, that this shooting slump is a massive outlier in a strong and steady career predicated upon three-point shooting and defensive intangibles.
“I know him. I know he’s not worried about it. I’m not worried about him. I think the media and people are killing him,” Josh Hart told reporters at his locker on Friday. “He’s in a new situation. He’s in a place where he’s been what, 18 games in a different role than he’s played the last 4 years? So it’s our job to get him going and all the other BS about what we gave up, this that or the other, it means nothing. If we win a championship, won’t nobody give a damn about how many picks we give up. We can give up 15 picks. It don’t matter. At the end of the day, we’re trying to win a championship and he’s gonna be a key piece of that.”
Bridges, however, wasn’t a key piece of the victory on Friday.
It will be his job to deliver and to adjust to his new role guarding the point of attack for the Knick defense. The three-point struggles, too, have been glaring given the quality of the looks he’s gotten this season.
“We need to continue to build him up. If you go out there and nitpick everything that he does, that’s only detrimental to him,” Hart continued. “So we’re all gonna have a conversation about that—we’ve gotta get him going, and that’s when we’ll get the best version of ‘Kal. It’s 18 games into the season. He’s a hell of a player. He’s been to the Finals. He knows how to win. So we can calm down with all the criticism and nitpicking of a guy who’s won every time he stepped on the court in any situation. A lot of people that can’t do what he does.”
Bridges did get to the foul line against the Hornets, where he split a pair of free throws.
It marked his first trip to the charity stripe since Nov. 13, but Thibodeau said free throws aren’t the biggest indicator of whether or not Bridges is in rhythm.
“I just want him to play his game. Take your shots. Mikal is not a specialist. He’s an all-around player. So he scores in transition, he scores on cuts. He scores in pick and roll. He scores on catch and shoot. Just keep moving and get some easy baskets,” he said. “Your rhythm’s gonna come and the more you play with each guy on a team, you’re gonna get some chemistry. They’re gonna get going.
“So let the game tell you what to do, but in the meantime, do other things: play great defense, hit the open man, cut hard. He had a couple great cuts that led to wide open 3s. Two guys went with the cutter, one guy’s wide open. So help the team in whatever way you can. Prioritize the team, and every guy’s gonna go through things throughout the course of a season. That’s part of it. But I like the resolve he’s showing. I like the fight. Like I said, the body of work says who he is.”
