Steve Popper: For Knicks' Mikal Bridges, the moral of the story is don't stop believin'
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges celebrates after a three-pointer during the second half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers on Saturday in Cleveland. Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
CLEVELAND — The question came late Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. When things were at their lowest for the Knicks and more specifically himself, could Mikal Bridges have imagined what would follow — a nine-game winning streak and Bridges delivering one stellar performance after another?
And the answer was simple.
“Yeah,” he said.
Maybe he could. History has shown that he never has been deterred by the critics and questions that have trailed him, or the price the Knicks paid to acquire him. But when asked what gave him that confidence to see the resurgence coming, Bridges had nearly as few words, adding only “my teammates.”
As the Knicks have ascended through the postseason, one of the most consistent themes has been the depth and talent that has allowed them to not only rely on the scoring magic of Jalen Brunson but to win with playmaking from Karl-Anthony Towns, defense and scoring from OG Anunoby, bench play from Landry Shamet and a host of others and, yes, playoff heroics from Bridges.
Maybe you didn’t see it coming. Maybe you were among the crowd shouting for Mike Brown to bench Bridges when he was struggling and the Knicks were down two games to one against Atlanta in the opening round.
Or maybe you remembered that last season, after similar criticism and talk about the five first-round picks the Knicks gave up to get him, Bridges helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference Finals with game-saving steals in Boston.
“We never worried about Mikal,” Towns said Saturday morning as the Knicks readied for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers. "We know what he can do. There was never a worry in our locker room about Mikal or anything like that. We know when we need Mikal, he’ll show up just like he did last year in Boston for two big steals. He does a lot of things that don’t end up on the stat sheet that he doesn’t get credit for. Right now, the stat sheet is giving him credit for it, but we always know the impact that he has on our team.”
“It was tough, but you want to be great at whatever you want to do,” Bridges said of fighting through the struggles. “A lot of toughness comes from the mental part. I think I've been raised the right way, been coached by a lot of the great coaches who talk a lot about mental toughness. And sometimes you've got to thrive in it even if you're struggling. The more you thrive, the better it's going to be for you.”
Still, after Bridges struggled through the first five games of the postseason — 7.2 points per game, including a scoreless effort in Game 3 of the opening round, with a total of seven assists, seven rebounds and six turnovers in that span — could you have expected this?
Bridges put up 24 points and shot 10-for-12 in the Game 6 blowout of Atlanta, and he hasn’t stopped. He's averaging 18.7 points and shooting 68.3%, including 50.0% from three-point range, and 100% from the line, the first player in NBA history to average at least 15 points in a seven-game postseason span on those shooting metrics.
So what changed?
“Just his aggression,” Brown said. “But I also have to help him by putting him in position to be able to make plays, to make plays for himself, make plays for his teammates, but he just started to impose his will on the game a little bit more while I also tried to make sure I called his number every once in a while, make sure he stays in the flow, because he has a tough assignment every day defensively. He gets out and runs, he slips pick-and-rolls and re-spaces. And so I have to make sure that I continue to involve him offensively to let him know that, hey, we know you can do this for us, so go do it.”
But it was more than just the offensive production, even if that has been a huge help. In this series, while he averaged 18.5 points and shot 69.6% through the first two games, his impact might have been even bigger on the other end, where he has had to defend James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. According to NBA.com metrics, Harden was 1-for-11 overall and 0-for-5 from three-point range in the first two games with Bridges as the primary defender.
“Just a team. Team defense. Team effort,” Bridges said. “Our scouting, our coaches, and everybody being on a string.
“I think it's just a habit of guarding him for eight-plus years now. So just learning and grow each time you guard him. So just learning … It's a lot of reps. A lot of time. And I'm grateful he was in the West when I was in the West, so I got to line up against him a lot of times.”
As the Knicks chase their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999, Bridges is as even-keeled as he was when he was struggling.
“Experience helps a lot,” he said. “All levels, especially getting here last year. Just knowing what it takes, especially losing it, too. Learning from that. That always sticks with you. It helps you know you’ve got to be real grateful to be in these moments, don't take it for granted and take every possession by possession. And don't skip a possession, don't skip a play. Go out there and give all you got. Because it's not easy to get here, and you're not going to get here all the time.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
