The New York Knicks‘ latest win featured plenty of headlines. OG Anunoby drilled the game-winner, Jalen Brunson did his usual clutch thing, and Mitchell Robinson finally returned to the lineup.
While Anunoby deserves all the credit in the world for his clutch shot, sometimes, flowers need to be dished out to the players who were just as important—yet contributed in an under-the-radar way.
That brings us to Mikal Bridges, whose 15 points on 7 of 14 shooting added to the offensive cause. His 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks were also a worthy reason for why New York prevailed in crunchtime, 114-113, over the Memphis Grizzlies.
It’s all good stuff for a team that finally looked complete.
Yet, the numbers can’t even begin to communicate the full story.
A specific defensive adjustment by Mikal Bridges late in the game was the New York Knicks’ crunchtime key to the victory. Better yet, it came against the uber-talented Ja Morant.
Who is Ja Morant as a player?
Despite his troubles of the last couple of years, Ja Morant is as explosive a basketball player can ever get. While nobody would confuse him with an elite outside shooter, he can knock them down if given enough room.
Through 37 games this season, Morant is shooting a career-low 43.3% from the floor while averaging 20.9 points per game. His 7.4 assists per contest still place him in worthy point guard territory, so with the ball in his hands, he’s still as dangerous as it gets.
Morant’s 55.6 true shooting percentage ranks him much closer to LaMelo Ball (54%) than it does to Jayson Tatum (58.8%) or Devin Booker (59.3%).
It’s safe to say that worrying about Morant’s blow-by and drive to the hole is much more pertinent than anything from the perimeter.
Yet, Bridges and the Knicks allowed Morant to burn them down the stretch.
The educational play
With 23.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Memphis called timeout to prep for a side-out-of-bounds (SOB) situation. Thanks to Brunson’s monstrously clutch 3-pointer the possession prior, the Grizzlies trailed by a single point.
What proceeded to happen was a Morant 3-point play (the old-fashioned way)—putting Memphis up by two with just 14.4 seconds remaining.
Bridges jumped out way too hard initially. Worst yet, on Morant’s size-up, Bridges floated way too far to the right, perhaps feeling high screen and roll.
I get it, too: Bridges moved high and a bit toward the screenman, perhaps in anticipation of getting skinny or fighting through in some momentary double-team action on Morant.
We all know the Knicks love to ice pick-and-roll situations, but I have a tough believing Bridges was committed to an ice action in this specific situation—against Morant in this spot on the floor.
Either way, staying a bit high forces Morant to Robinson’s side (the defensive’s shot-blocking and longer side).
However, considering Morant’s non-lethal outside shooting, Bridges didn’t need to go that hard and high.
As soon as Morant saw it, he blew by with his strong hand (right), and the speed for which he attacked the lane put the returning Robinson in a tough situation. He simply did not have time to commit to the help.
The adjustment
For those who may be blissfully unaware, basketball is a game of mistakes. A human who has a tough time forgetting about and overcoming mistakes will never find basketball glory.
It’s just that simple.
For instance, Stephen Curry didn’t become the greatest shooter of all-time by thinking his shot might go into the hoop. He achieved those heights by knowing every single shot he takes will go down.
It’s similar on the defensive end of the floor—especially in today’s game, where the offensive game is nuts, points totals are outrageous, and 3-point-shot attempts are obscene. (Please, Adam Silver, give the defense something—anything—regarding an upcoming rule change.)
After getting a bit too far ahead of his skies on the possession prior, watch how Mikal Bridges plays Ja Morant on the possession that iced the Knicks’ victory.
Remember, there are only 4.3 seconds to go in the game. Defenders have a tough time staying calm and not getting too antsy.
The natural tendency is to get up in the dribbler’s grill en route to take away the perimeter shot. No truer words could be spoken in today’s 3-point bonanza of a landscape.
Also note that Tom Thibodeau placed Deuce McBride in tandem with Bridges high, so the two could work any potential top-of-the-key pick-and-roll situation. Robinson is placed on the strong-side corner player (Morant’s right hand), whereas Anunoby is placed on the weak side.
Even if Morant finishes the play, Bridges should still be lauded for the adjustment and effort. His smarts off the jump, not getting on his toes too much, were the perfect strategy in conjunction with his length against a blow-by guard like Morant.
Fortunately, for the New York Knicks, Ja Morant could not finish over those long arms. Credit the stars on this night, such as OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson, but let’s also tip our caps in the direction of Mikal Bridges as well.
Sometimes, it’s the under-the-radar moves that mean the most.
