CHARLOTTE – After boarding the bus for Mikal Bridges again Friday afternoon, the guard sat on the bench for most of the fourth quarter of the Knicks' close victory, but he said he's going to get better as a teammate. ” he swore. The coach forced his way into the at-bat in place of the struggling guard.
“I'm not worried about (Bridges),” Josh Hart said. “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 been in the last four years. So it's hard to move him. is our job. And all the other BS about what we gave up (5 first round picks to the Nets) means nothing.
“If we win, if we win a championship, no one cares how many picks we give up. We could have given up 15 picks, but it doesn't matter. No. At the end of the day, we're trying to win a championship, and he's going to be a key part of that.”
Bridges, who has been disappointing as a primarily two-way player this season, scored eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and was only used on three defensive possessions by Tom Thibodeau in the final 8 1/2 minutes. .
Thibodeau ran with Miles McBride in the backcourt on Friday, making it the second time in the past four games that Bridges has been dragged in late.
The Knicks (11-8) quickly made strides without Bridges, pulling off a come-from-behind victory and finishing the road trip with a 3-2 record.
“We have to play better. We were inconsistent,” Bridges said. He entered Friday averaging 15.9 on 31% and leading the NBA in minutes. “Some games we played well, some games we didn't. We need to find a rhythm within the team. That's it. We haven't played 20 games yet and we're still trying to figure it out.”
Thibodeau said he stuck with McBride until late Friday because he was “fresh,” “could make shots,” and “we were in the mud.”
Bridges, who was on the bench in last week's loss to the Jazz, said Thisbs “made the right decision.”
“Go out there and win the game. That's the most important thing, just win the game,” Bridges said. “But yeah, obviously I have to play better, I had to take advantage of the opportunities I was given and convert.
“We had a lot of sloppy turnovers. A couple of times (they) got me in the middle and scored. We'll get better.”
The end of the first half epitomized that disappointment.
With 1.1 seconds left on a Hornets bucket attack, the Knicks simply threw the ball to the ground to take halftime.
Instead, Bridges threw a pass directly into the hands of Charlotte's Josh Green, who sank a jumper before the buzzer for a 49-46 lead.
“I always say this: Look, Michal is fine,” Thibodeau asserted. “If he was a rookie, you'd be worried because you don't know who the real rookie is. There's no body of work. We know Mikal has a lot of work.”
While Bridges hasn't admitted that the change in his offensive role is a problem, there's an obvious adjustment to his transition from No. 1 option in Brooklyn to No. 3 and even No. 4 with the Knicks. It is being done.
His aggression and confidence have clearly taken a hit, and Bridges is reluctant to drive into contact, as evidenced by his lack of free throw attempts (averaging less than one per game). .
This is a problem enough that Hart said the team will discuss solutions.
“We need to continue to develop him,” Hart said. “If you go out there and nag about everything he does, it's only a disservice to him.
“So we're all going to talk about that. We've all got to move him, and that's when we're going to get the best version of Mikal. 19 games left in the season. He's He's a hell of a player. He's been to the finals. He knows how to win. That's why he takes all the criticism and criticism of a player who wins every time he steps on the court. But we can calm down. And many people can't do what he did.”
Added Jalen Brunson, a former college teammate of Bridges: We will not leave anyone on an island. ”
