Knicks' Mikal Bridges expects to learn from blowout loss to Celtics in season-opener
Mikal Bridges of the Knicks takes a shot over Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden on Tuesday in Boston. Credit: Getty Images/Brian Fluharty
For any Knicks fan — or coach — who could bear to rewatch the tape from Tuesday’s season-opening disaster in Boston, the rewind button may have been worn out as an effort was put forth to dissect the shooting form of Mikal Bridges.
In his debut with the Knicks he misfired on all five of his first-half attempts, including four beyond the arc, before recovering in the second half to convert 7-for-8, including 2-for-3 from three-point range. That performance had the internet buzzing about whether he’d changed his form at halftime. Bridges had a long conversation last week explaining how he’d been working to tweak his form through the summer and training camp.
The argument fell on deaf ears in the locker room as Bridges insisted the difference was coincidental. “Just making one," Bridges said. "Just making one is just like letting the lid off. But that's pretty much it. Just teammates finding me, staying aggressive.”
Josh Hart, who Bridges has known since their days at Villanova, bristled. “We don’t care about all that background noise about Mikal, his shot, all that other,"
Hart said. "We don’t care about it," Hart said. "He puts the work in every day. He’s going to be good. The talk around it is stupid and there is stupidity to it because at the end of the day he’s been almost a 40% three-point shooter.”
As long as they’re right things should be fine. However, returning to Madison Square Garden for the home opener Friday night against Indiana might not be greeted so kindly if they Knicks and Bridges don’t raise their level far above what the one-sided loss in Boston put on display.
The criticism that Bridges would take on this day though was on the other end of the floor where the part of his game that isn’t supposed to vary was a startling failure. It certainly isn’t his fault alone. The communication among the five starters wasn’t there and as Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau pointed out, second and third efforts on defense were a step slow.
But pairing Bridges with OG Anunoby was supposed to be the answer to the tandem of Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and Tatum poured in 37 points, shooting 14-for-18 and 8-for-11 on threes.
“I definitely could have done better,” Bridges said. “I think my performance at the defensive end wasn't that well for me personally, as well as our team. I think I just could have been better, especially a guy getting it and having that rhythm from the three, just getting up a little bit more. He had a nice move on me in the paint as well."
“Indecision. Second and third effort,” Thibodeau said. “When you play a team like that you got to scramble and you got to fly around. One effort is not going to be enough. You got to have a second and third and fourth effort.”
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.
