Knicks' Mikal Bridges struggles and sits late against Hornets, and he agrees with the decision
New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, left, looks to pass against Charlotte Hornets guard KJ Simpson during the first half on Friday. Credit: AP/Nell Redmond
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mikal Bridges found himself on the Knicks' bench for nearly the entire stretch run of Friday's game, watching as his teammates pushed ahead against the Hornets. And, just as he said in Utah when he sat down the stretch, he had no argument with the move.
“Made the right decision,” said Bridges, who went to the bench with 8:25 to play and got only a couple of defensive possessions in the final seconds of the Knicks' 99-98 win. “Go out there and win the game. That’s the biggest thing, just win the game. But yeah, obviously I got to play better.”
Bridges' shooting woes continued on Friday, and that's something that teammates and coaches assured anyone who would listen will level out over time. But it was hard to imagine it didn’t weigh on him if you watched him struggle through this game. He turned the ball over three times, including one unforgivable play just before halftime. After a basket by the Hornets' Josh Green with 1.1 seconds left, Bridges' lazy inbounds pass was stolen by Green, who converted a buzzer-beating basket.
“I know he’s not worried about it,” Josh Hart said. “I’m not worried about him. I think the media and people are killing him. He’s in a new situation. He’s in a situation where he’s played [19] games in a different role than he’s played the last four years. So it’s our job to get him going.
“And all the other BS about what we gave up, this that and the other, it means nothing. If we win, if we get a championship, ain’t nobody give a damn about how many picks we gave up [to acquire Bridges from the Nets]. We could’ve given up 15 picks, it don’t matter. At the end of the day, we’re trying to win a championship. He’s going to be a key piece of that. And we need to continue to build him up.”
Bridges is shooting only 30.8% from three-point range, and when he got to the line for two free throws Friday, that marked his first foul shots in eight games.
“He’s one of us,” Jalen Brunson said. “We don’t leave anyone on an island, no matter what. No matter what the situation is, whether we’re playing good together or playing bad together, we’ve got each other’s back. That’s just how we are.”
“Mikal’s going to be fine,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of the seven-year veteran. “If he were a rookie, I would be worried because you don't know who the rookie is, really. There’s not a body of work.”
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.
