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BOSTON -- If I asked you a few weeks ago to tell me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear ‘Mikal Bridges’, you’d probably say ‘five first-round picks?!?’
If I asked you the same question late Monday night, your answer would probably be a little different.
Bridges made several huge plays to help the Knicks rally from 20 points down to win Game 1.
With the game tied at 100 early in overtime, Bridges used his wingspan and athleticism to disrupt Jaylen Brown’s drive, steal his pass to Al Horford, save it from going out of bounds and get it to Josh Hart.
Hart pushed the ball and found OG Anunoby for a dunk to give the Knicks the first lead of overtime.
A minute later, Bridges knocked down a three from the corner to give New York a six-point lead with 2:30 to play.
For a finale, Bridges - in his 51st minute on the court – used coordination, instinct and strength to steal an inbounds from Brown to seal the win.
“That’s who Mikal is. He’s (gotten) a lot of criticism and he never lets that affect him,” Hart said late Monday night from the visitors locker room. “I don’t know how many games down the stretch that he’s won for us on the defensive side alone -- the Brooklyn game, the block, the Chicago game he got a block at the end. A couple in the Detroit series.
“He’s been a huge part for this team. Sometimes those things get overlooked and people just look at stats and they lose sight of how valuable a player that he is.”
Bridges’ shooting stats on Monday weren’t pretty. He went 3-for-13 and scored eight points (yes, he was 2 for 12 when he knocked down the baseline three in overtime). But those numbers don’t present an accurate picture of his impact. In addition to seven assists (and just one turnover), Bridges had three steals and two blocks in Game 1.
“He got big stops. He made big-time shots. Just stayed with it,” Jalen Brunson said of his Villanova teammate. “Kept playing hard and you saw the results.”
Bridges’ effort didn’t always yield good results in the regular season.
For much of the year, he was blamed (sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly) for New York’s shortcomings. He was the face of a Knick defense that was subpar, at best. He didn’t score consistently. In short, he wasn’t making the kind of impact you’d expect from a player acquired for five first-round picks.
But Bridges has started to flip that in the playoffs, delivering in several key spots over the past three weeks. Bridges’ two three-pointers to start the fourth quarter of Game 4 in Detroit sparked a Knick comeback win.
In Game 6, he had 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting to help New York close the series. Bridges’ defense was strong throughout the first round.
And he followed that up with clutch play after clutch play on Monday.
“He’s a winning player. He makes winning plays,” Hart said. “He should be celebrated for that.”
Continue reading...
If I asked you the same question late Monday night, your answer would probably be a little different.
Bridges made several huge plays to help the Knicks rally from 20 points down to win Game 1.
With the game tied at 100 early in overtime, Bridges used his wingspan and athleticism to disrupt Jaylen Brown’s drive, steal his pass to Al Horford, save it from going out of bounds and get it to Josh Hart.
Hart pushed the ball and found OG Anunoby for a dunk to give the Knicks the first lead of overtime.
A minute later, Bridges knocked down a three from the corner to give New York a six-point lead with 2:30 to play.
For a finale, Bridges - in his 51st minute on the court – used coordination, instinct and strength to steal an inbounds from Brown to seal the win.
“That’s who Mikal is. He’s (gotten) a lot of criticism and he never lets that affect him,” Hart said late Monday night from the visitors locker room. “I don’t know how many games down the stretch that he’s won for us on the defensive side alone -- the Brooklyn game, the block, the Chicago game he got a block at the end. A couple in the Detroit series.
“He’s been a huge part for this team. Sometimes those things get overlooked and people just look at stats and they lose sight of how valuable a player that he is.”
Bridges’ shooting stats on Monday weren’t pretty. He went 3-for-13 and scored eight points (yes, he was 2 for 12 when he knocked down the baseline three in overtime). But those numbers don’t present an accurate picture of his impact. In addition to seven assists (and just one turnover), Bridges had three steals and two blocks in Game 1.
“He got big stops. He made big-time shots. Just stayed with it,” Jalen Brunson said of his Villanova teammate. “Kept playing hard and you saw the results.”
Bridges’ effort didn’t always yield good results in the regular season.
For much of the year, he was blamed (sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly) for New York’s shortcomings. He was the face of a Knick defense that was subpar, at best. He didn’t score consistently. In short, he wasn’t making the kind of impact you’d expect from a player acquired for five first-round picks.
But Bridges has started to flip that in the playoffs, delivering in several key spots over the past three weeks. Bridges’ two three-pointers to start the fourth quarter of Game 4 in Detroit sparked a Knick comeback win.
In Game 6, he had 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting to help New York close the series. Bridges’ defense was strong throughout the first round.
And he followed that up with clutch play after clutch play on Monday.
“He’s a winning player. He makes winning plays,” Hart said. “He should be celebrated for that.”
Continue reading...
