New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson had a magnificent scoring season last year, averaging 28.7 points per game which was fourth among all NBA players. Entering the 2024-25 season, the Knicks are deeper, adding Mikal Bridges via trade and getting several key players back from injury.
The addition of Mikal Bridges could mean lower shot volume for Jalen Brunson
The team is expected to be one of the best in the league this upcoming season. However, with so many options spread across the floor, players will have to sacrifice shot attempts, and that could include Brunson. Last season, the All-Star guard quickly blossomed into an elite scorer and carried the load of a Knicks team that dealt with several injuries to the roster, but that play style he adopted in the midst of that could change this upcoming season.
Fred Katz of The Athletic said that with the addition of Bridges, Brunson’s scoring could dip to get their newest member a healthy amount of touches on the court:
“There is a world where Brunson’s scoring dips this season — and not because he got any worse over the summer,” Katz wrote. “The Knicks don’t just have more mouths to feed than they did during their season of attrition. They also have more skill across the perimeter. They can show off looks they couldn’t in 2023-24. And that begins with their biggest addition of the offseason: Bridges.
“Somewhere inside Madison Square Garden is a happy medium for a wing who has been either under or overextended throughout his seven-year career.”
Bridges gives the Knicks a much-needed third option
Brunson is still the team’s superstar and main option, so he will have plenty of high-scoring games and likely continue developing into an elite shot-maker, as his career trajectory would suggest. However, with Bridges now sharing the floor with Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Julius Randle, the Knicks would surely like to utilize their best pieces as much as possible to maximize their skillset, which could mean that Brunson will have to sacrifice shot attempts on some nights to get the others involved.
Bridges suddenly became the Brooklyn Nets’ first option after being traded there from the Phoenix Suns and had a strong stretch of play that quickly inserted into conversations as one of the game’s most underrated talents. However, a full season would later show that he as a team’s No. 1 option is simply not sustainable for success.
In his first 27 games with the Nets, the 27-year-old averaged 26.1 points with tremendous efficiency and Brooklyn reached the postseason despite trading its two superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. His scoring numbers took a sizable dip last season, as he averaged just 19.6 points per game and shot 43.6% from the floor, the lowest since his rookie season with the Suns. The Nets would also fail to make the postseason.
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Bridges will likely be used primarily as an off-ball threat
Bridges’ role on the Knicks could emulate his role on the Suns where he was primarily used off the ball as a spot-up shooter and cutter. That method worked well, as Phoenix was a great team and made the NBA Finals in 2021, and Bridges saw personal growth as a player as the years went on. He now joins New York in the middle of his prime, making them a significantly deeper team than the one they were a year ago.
If the Knicks were going to bring in Bridges to barely use him in the offense, then that would render the trade meaningless. Whatever role they have Bridges play, he will be a huge part of the team’s dynamic going forward. While it could mean a slight dip in volume for Brunson, the team will have so many go-to options at one time that it will be very difficult for opposing defenses to focus on one guy, which could make the Knicks one of the most fluid offenses in the league this upcoming season.
