Knicks' woes on defense aren't all Mikal Bridges' fault
Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young (11) drives past New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in New York. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
The moment we remember is Trae Young dribbling out the clock near center court at Madison Square Garden as he mimed rolling dice and picking up cash on Wednesday night.
But for the Knicks, it wasn’t allowing him to do that on their home floor but what preceded it that really mattered.
Young doesn’t get to celebrate the Hawks’ trip to Las Vegas if the Knicks don’t let him do the things he’s done too often at the Garden, the things that allow him to rejoice in his role as the villain of 34th Street. But he did it by taking over the game in the third quarter and recording 22 points and 11 assists in a 108-100 Atlanta win that knocked the Knicks out of the NBA Cup and into a consolation trip to Orlando for Sunday’s game.
The Knicks’ defense couldn’t stop Young (12 points, five assists) in the third quarter any more than they could stop him from the end-of-game antics. What was alarming is that the player whom they handed the assignment to, Mikal Bridges, was supposed to be that defensive stopper.
“Every great player, you’re not guarding them individually,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You’re guarding them collectively. If it were a one-on-one game, you could say this didn’t work, cause oftentimes it’s what’s coming off it.
“Is there a big involved? Is there a small involved? Is there a switch involved? Is there a blitz involved? Are we up to touch? Where is the screen occurring? And is he on the ball, is he off the ball? Those are things that your team [needs] to be connected and tied together on.”
Bridges himself said recently, “I do have to play better. I’ve been inconsistent. I’ve had some games where I’ve played good, some I don’t. Just got to find a rhythm within the team. That’s pretty much it.”
Bridges has taken his share of blame for the Knicks’ inability to get on track after carrying lofty expectations into the season.
The offense has been inconsistent, but the Knicks have no issues on that end of the floor, ranking in the top three in the league in offensive rating.
But defensively, the hope was that Bridges and OG Anunoby would provide a defensive wing pairing that could serve as a counter to the talented offensive players the Knicks have to shut down this season.
“I know it’s a huge change for him on both sides of the ball,” Josh Hart said. “He was the number one guy for the last year and a half, getting 20, 25, 30 play calls for you, to being the third, fourth option and getting no play calls. It takes an adjustment process. Not just physically being in a new place but also mentally. That’s something that takes a little bit of time, finding his rhythm offensively. And we have to continue to find him when he’s open and let him play-make.
“Defensively, we give him sometimes what seems like an impossible task. He’s not shying away from it. So it’s something that we have to help him on both sides of the ball because he’s doing what we’re asking him to do.
“Sometimes [I] can kind of help him a little bit defensively and be that point of attack defender and guard the ball and kind of get him off ball and let him roam and let play in the passing lanes and block shots and do those kinds of things.
“He’s adjusting. It takes a second. On both sides of the ball, he’s being asked to sacrifice a lot and do a lot.”
What accompanies most of the critiques of Bridges is the price the Knicks paid for him — five first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and a second-round pick, a haul that the Knicks had held tightly to for years in search of a star.
Earlier this season, Hart shrugged off the cost, referring to it as five 12th-graders.
And it won’t hurt if two things happen: The picks are late first-rounders because the Knicks are good — and the Knicks get the title that has eluded them for more than 50 years.
Trade time?
The NBA trade market really opens up Sunday with the Dec. 15 date that allows 85 free agents signed in the offseason to be dealt. (Miami and Indiana already jumped to an early start with a deal sending Thomas Bryant to the Pacers that can’t be officially completed until this date.)
The trade deadline is Feb. 6, but one constant with the Knicks’ front office has been moving ahead of that date.
The issue this time is that they are bumping up perilously close to the second apron — they’re approximately $500,000 away from it — and don’t have a lot of assets. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be looking.
Mitchell Robinson remains their most intriguing piece as he continues to rehabilitate from ankle surgery. With the arrival of Karl-Anthony Towns, Robinson became a luxury, a defensive piece to serve as a backup or work alongside Towns (if he gets healthy).
The Knicks have protected him, giving him much longer than expected. It was either to ensure his health or to protect their asset.
Court fight continues
The long-simmering feud between the Knicks and Toronto Raptors dating to August 2023 — centered around the Raptors’ hiring of video coordinator Ike Azotam and his sharing of what the Knicks said was proprietary scouting materials — has taken another turn.
The New York courts kicked the case back to the NBA in June with the intent that it should be settled under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. The Knicks and Raptors sent a joint letter to the court Friday saying no progress has been made.
An MSG Sports spokesman said in a statement: “We’ve been waiting for any direction from the NBA on next steps in this matter for months — proving our point that the NBA is not capable of appropriately and fairly handling this serious theft of proprietary and confidential files. Unfortunately, because of the clear conflict of interest between the Commissioner and the Chairman of the NBA, there has been complete silence from the league.”
Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of the NBA, is the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Raptors, and is close with commissioner Adam Silver.
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.