Mikal Bridges did the hard-to-quantify things in Game 3 as usual and scored 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting for the Knicks.
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CLEVELAND — Send the Brooklyn Nets more picks. They can consider all the cash they want, too.
Mikal Bridges’ short trek from Brooklyn to Manhattan two summers ago initiated arguments that got as heated as subway platforms in July. The New York Knicks traded five first-round picks and more to the cross-town rival Nets to acquire Bridges, a reliable NBA wing without an All-Star Game to his name. Many saw it as a significant overpay for someone of his stature.
New York’s decision-makers, though, identified Bridges as a critical piece for a team ready to transition into a serious challenger.
For the trade to be justified, the Knicks had to quickly be in the chase for a championship. There’s no other way around it. Anything short of that could set the franchise back, as it emptied the bulk of its asset cabinet to get the move done. People could lose their jobs over such a gamble. One way or another, whenever the dust settles, an extreme result will present itself.
Yet here we are, almost two years since the move, and New York is a legitimate title contender again. Last year, it made the Eastern Conference finals before bowing out. This year, it’s right back in that same spot and, as history says, is going to be in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 after taking a 3-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. No team in NBA history has fumbled a 3-0 series lead.
The Knicks wouldn’t be here without Bridges. Not without those gangly limbs irking James Harden and Tyrese Maxey each time either one has tried to make something happen. Not without that buttery midrange jumper that floats over any tertiary defender an opponent puts in front of Bridges because it has bigger fish to worry about. Not without the marathon stamina Bridges and his iron-man reputation carry as he turns hard defense into easy offense with ever-so-subtle anticipation.
Bridges scored 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting Saturday night. He also had six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. More importantly, the Knicks are as serious a title contender as they’ve been since frosted tips were in style.
“He’s just got a good feel,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s picking and choosing (when to go for steals), just like when he’s picking and choosing to go for his shot when we call his number. We need him to continue to do that. I told him and OG (Anunoby) that because I don’t call a lot of plays, you guys have to impose your will on the game. They’re both doing a phenomenal job of imposing their will on the game.”
To better understand Bridges as a Knick, you have to first come to grips with the fact he didn’t ask to be traded for such a large haul. It was the front office that made that commitment. On the surface, Bridges was never going to live up to the trade value — or perceived expectations of what someone who is traded for that much capital should be capable of — because, well, that’s not what New York needed him to do. The team had Jalen Brunson and would later acquire Karl-Anthony Towns to build its offense around. The Knicks needed Bridges, just like Anunoby, to be able to give hell defensively to the wings in Boston, while being able to fill in the gaps offensively with efficient shotmaking.
So when you peel back the layers, Bridges has done everything he’s been brought here to do when it matters most — even if the last two regular seasons presented stomach-dropping experiences that sometimes made you queasy thinking about what else those draft picks could have been used on. Since a rough two-game stretch in New York’s first-round series against Atlanta, when Bridges was essentially benched in the second halves, the 29-year-old is shooting an absurd 68.4 percent from the floor on 11.4 field goal attempts per game over his last nine. He’s snatching almost two steals nightly.
Last season, Bridges won Knicks’ postseason games against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons by blocking a shot or making a deflection with his “Go, go Gadget” arms. He came through with pressure shots when New York needed them, even if they didn’t come in bulk.
Bridges was brought here to help the Knicks win a championship. He’s done his job.
“The expectations don’t matter,” Josh Hart, his current teammate and former college teammate, said. “That’s for y’all to talk about. There’s nothing he can do about it.
“He didn’t call (Knicks president) Leon (Rose) and say, ‘Yo, this is the trade package!’ He got put into this situation, and he hit the ground running. We wouldn’t be in this situation without him. Look, how many games has he won for us because he got a stop down the stretch? He’s won games in every single way for us. That’s why we wanted him. That’s why he’s here.”
Bridges lived two separate NBA lives before joining the Knicks, and he’s found a way to blend those two personas in Manhattan. He was drafted 10th in 2018 by the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded his rights to the Phoenix Suns. He spent his first 4 1/2 seasons with the Suns acting as a 3-and-D specialist and was expected to just defend the opposing team’s best player and knock down open shots. Bridges did that job so well that the Nets wanted him in the trade for Kevin Durant. In Brooklyn, with fewer expectations regarding team success, Bridges became the team’s primary initiator.
Bridges went from a 15 percent usage rate in his last full season in Phoenix to a 24 percent usage rate in his first full season in Brooklyn. To put it in perspective, Brunson had a 29.4 percent usage rate last season with the Knicks. Brooklyn provided Bridges with the freedom to be a go-to guy.
Two years into his time in Manhattan, Bridges finally appeared comfortable rolling his past responsibilities into one mega role. He floats around knocking down open 3s that are generated because of the talent around him. He also does the dirty work defensively to create offense for himself. Then there are times Bridges is forceful in making his presence felt, such as late in the Knicks’ 22-point comeback in Game 1, when Bridges dribbled across the floor, stumbled and hoisted a fadeaway 3 over the outstretched arm of Evan Mobley. That was the shot and confidence of a 10-time All-Star.
“In a way, it’s a blessing,” said Knicks teammate Landry Shamet, who also played with Bridges in Phoenix. “You’ve been asked to do so many different things in your career.
“Some nights, Mikal only gets five shots up, but he’s got to guard the best player, run around and keep him under 13 points or something. Each night is something different.”
Winning an NBA championship is hard. There are too many factors that go into which team hoists the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of every season; anyone who acts as if there is an exact formula clearly just likes to hear themself talk. The best team all season doesn’t always win.
The goal for every NBA organization is to have a chance, to be one of the teams able to make it to the sport’s mountaintop year after year. The Knicks have been in that position since they traded for Bridges, which is what the front office hoped for. In fact, that’s all that anyone can ask for.
The Bridges trade was worth it for New York. It’s time to let that argument die.
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James L. Edwards III is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Knicks. Previously, he covered the Detroit Pistons at The Athletic for seven seasons and, before that, was a reporter for the Lansing State Journal, where he covered Michigan State and high school sports. You can follow James on X @JLEdwardsIII.
