Mikal Bridges’ struggles in a New York Knicks uniform continued on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets. The Knicks escaped with a 99-98 win over the severely injured Hornets, but Bridges was not much of a factor. The Pennsylvania native scored a mere eight points on a subpar 3-10 shooting from the field and 1-4 shooting from the three-point line.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau stands by Mikal Bridges amid downseason
Scrutiny followed Bridges into the matchup and clung to him after the victory. Despite this, his team rallied around him with words of support following the disappointing showing.
Per New York Basketball, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said this about his level of worry regarding the standout two-way star in his post-game press conference:
“Like look, Mikal’s gonna be fine. 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. We know, Mikal has a body of work,” Thibodeau declared.
Thibodeau’s comments, as affirming as they are, still leave room for some eyebrow raises. The Villanova product’s body of work shows a player who came into his own as a scorer after getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2022-23, having averaged 26.1 points per game after that season’s trade deadline. It also shows a talent who proved he could follow that up with 19.6 PPG throughout the previous campaign. That, plus his all-world defensive capabilities and accolades prove that he may in fact emerge from his early slump and make it ancient history.
Josh Hart wants Bridges more involved in Knicks’ offense
Nevertheless, the Knicks have a crowded starting lineup with many mouths to feed. He appears to be a casualty of that. Josh Hart acknowledged such, having said this to the media in the locker room after the game, as New York Basketball also shared:
“I know him. I know he’s not worried about it,” Hart said about whether or not his teammate is being affected by heavy expectations.
“If you go out there and nitpick everything that he does, that’s only a detriment to him, and we’re all gonna have a conversation with that. We’ve got to get him going, and that’s when we’ll get the best version of ‘Kal and, it’s 18 games of the season. He’s a hell of a player. He’s been to the Finals. He knows how to win.”
- Could the Knicks pull off a trade for Bulls’ sharp-shooting big man?
- Studs and Duds: Knicks remain undefeated in NBA Cup with close win over Hornets
- Knicks’ head coach downplays concern about offense against switching defenses
Bridges will look to right the ship vs. Pelicans
The 28-year-old is down to 15.9 PPG and 3.8 RPG, though he is dishing out a solid 3.3 assists per contest. His 30.8 percent clip from three-point range is a point of focus that he’ll look to clean up, which alone could see his scoring numbers spike if boosted by seven or more percent, consistent with his career 37.2 percent connect rate.
Bridges aims to climb out of his slump with the support of his teammates and coaches as soon as the Knicks’ next game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
