In what The Ringer’s Bill Simmons classified as his too-early “Two-Week NBA Power Poll” on his podcast, last week, Simmons took issue with Tom Thibodeau’s usage of newly acquired Mikal Bridges.
To Simmons, Bridges, who cost the New York Knicks a bevy of picks and pick swaps, was merely “irrelevant” down the stretch in recent games, utilized largely as a “complementary piece,” when, by comparison, a similar package could have netted New York Giannis Antetokounmpo, had they waited.
At 15.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 3.4 APG, Bridges is shooting at a similar clip from his combined season with Phoenix and Brooklyn in 2022-2023 (.467 from the floor), averaging the third most FGA on the Knicks (13.6), just behind Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, whose pick-and-roll, give-and-go work has been a sight to behold.
Across nine games, Bridges has managed two more shots per game than OG Anunoby, who has been a revelation from behind the arc (.408 from downtown), relying on far more than just the corner three that has been OG’s definitive “go-to” shot.
Combined with Anunoby, Bridges defends wings well and is finding comfort with his new shot mechanics as a pull-up shooter who can create his own shot, though his output from three (.317) leaves much to be desired.
The problem with these Knicks, however, is not offensive schemes and figures.
At 4-5, New York has been unable to put away opponents down the stretch.
The Knicks’ demanding schedule pits them against the world-beater Boston Celtics, whose opening night three-point numbers bordered on mythical, Indiana twice (their most recent loss came against the Pacers on the road on Sunday night), Miami (also on the road), the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers, the confounding Milwaukee Bucks (2-8 in their first 10), the upstart Houston Rockets, the Detroit Pistons, and the Atlanta Hawks.
Outside of Detroit, the Knicks’ first nine games have been against playoff-caliber teams (even Atlanta, who played in last year’s play-in tournament), many of whom are well-established beyond a Knicks team whose starting five on opening night against Boston had one player (Brunson) returning from last season’s opening night starting lineup. (This year, Josh Hart has moved into the starting role from his sixth-man position last season.)
Despite Hart’s initial concerns about starting full-time, he presently leads the league in 2P% (.745), scoring from the paint and midrange at will, providing the same motor and energy we came to expect from him last season.
KAT and Brunson are a formidable one-two scoring punch, with the former grabbing boards in the ferocious fashion he sustained in his early Minnesota days (he presently averages 12.3 boards a contest). There is little question that KAT fits in well with Thibs’s system and under the Big Apple’s bright lights.
Alas, the Knicks cannot seem to execute down the stretch, falling apart defensively and on the glass in the final frame.
Clinging to a 94-92 lead at the end of the third quarter against Indiana on Sunday night, the Knicks were outscored 40-27 in the fourth quarter, yielding too many easy threes and second-chance opportunities from Indiana. The Pacers coasted to a 132-121 win, a far cry from the Knicks’ dominance in a 123-98 victory in the season opener at MSG, whereby they held Tyrese Halliburton scoreless in the process (he had his vengeance on Sunday night with 35 points, second to Benedict Mathurin’s career-high 38 points on 7-for-9 shooting from three, 13-for-18 overall from the field).
Similar to Darius Garland’s explosive display at the Garden for Cleveland’s fourth win of the season, the Cavaliers point guard and Mathurin managed any shot they wanted in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks had no answer for either of them.
Admittedly, the Knicks are feeling out front-court options with Isaiah Hartenstein and Julius Randle’s departures and costly, early injuries to Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks are forced to play OG Anunoby out of position and rely on Jericho Sims, merely a warm body on the floor at this point, despite many chances to prove himself to spell KAT. When Towns is not available, the Knicks offer minimal rim protection and interior presence, and smaller opposing wings have piled up points in the paint as a result.
In their next four contests, the Knicks will play a Philadelphia 76ers team without Tyrese Maxey (out with a strained hamstring), aiming to debut Joel Embiid on the road. Then, they will face a middling Chicago Bulls squad at the Garden and back-to-back home games against a surprising Brooklyn Nets, who field a squad led by Cam Thomas, who can go off for 40-plus as their first scoring option.
Should New York fail to defend Zach LaVine, Kelly Oubre and Jared McCain, who managed a career-high 27 points for Philly against Charlotte on Sunday night, and Thomas the same way they did Garland, Mathurin and Halliburton of late, then their woes will only breed more frustrating losses.
