At one point during the playoffs, Knicks fans seriously questioned whether Mikal Bridges would still be a starter. That time has gone by, and given the current trends, it seems like a far-off memory.
Following a really bad Game 3 with the Atlanta Hawks, Bridges was scoreless, committed four turnovers, and didn’t play much in the second half – the doubts about him became quite loud.
Mike Brown, the head coach, told the media that “everything is on the table” including the idea of changing the starters lineup. It was not a great spot for a guy the Knicks gave up five first-round picks for.
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According to a report by Jared Schwartz of the New York Post, Brown ultimately kept Bridges in the starting five, and Bridges was grateful for it.
“It’s always great when your coach has got trust in you,” Bridges said after practice. “Yeah, that’s great. And teammates staying with it, keeping me confident, as well. I think we all know the end goal is just trying to win games and do whatever it takes to win. Even in my mistakes, just try to do whatever it takes and know that I just gotta bounce back and learn from them.”
Brown had a simple explanation for why he kept faith in Bridges: “He can play, he’s been in this situation before, we’ve had success with him. So I was just basically answering the questions regarding him. He’s earned the right to be there.”
Bridges certainly didn’t throw away that confidence vote. He ended the Hawks series with a 24-point performance on a very efficient 10-of-12 shooting in Game 6. Next, he took that momentum with him to the Philadelphia 76ers series. In the 4-0 sweep, he put up an average of 17.5 points per game while shooting at an extremely efficient rate of nearly 64% from the field. His contribution was even greater in the absence of OG Anunoby, who was sidelined with a hamstring strain for Games 3 and 4.
His defense on Tyrese Maxey was arguably just as important. In that series, Maxey averaged 18.3 points, about 10 fewer than his regular season average, while shooting 3-for-16 from three.
What Is Next for Bridges and the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals
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The Knicks are waiting for the Conference Finals opponent after the Detroit and Cleveland Game 7 thing. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be on Tuesday. Cleveland winning means New York gets the home-court advantage. Detroit moving on means Knicks will be playing first game outside.
In any case, Bridges is going to have a really challenging defensive task. For Cleveland, it will probably be Donovan Mitchell. For Detroit, it might be Cade Cunningham. Both are definitely a couple of levels higher than anybody he’s been guarding during this post-season.
The Conference Finals will be the moment of truth for this Bridges to prove if he can stand up to the level when the competition gets tougher.
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