Mikal Bridges’ offensive struggles against the Atlanta Hawks have not cost him his role as a starter, but the New York Knicks are no longer treating him like one. That’s unlikely to change before the end of the first round unless he starts figuring out how to play with any semblance of physicality.
Jokes about Bridges’ aversion to contact are nothing new. They predate his Knicks tenure, aligning almost perfectly with his drop in rim pressure that began years ago.Â
Seldom, though, has this compromised Bridges’ day-to-day role in New York. Mike Brown yanked him on a couple of occasions in the regular season, but never with the quick hook he’s using now.Â
Mikal Bridges’ aversion to contact is at an all-time high
Through the Knicks’ four postseason tilts, Bridges has taken just one shot at the rim off a half-court possession, or 3.8 percent of his total attempts. That pales in comparison to the already-miniscule basket pressure he delivered in the regular season. Just 11 percent of his shot attempts in the half-court came at the rim.
This isn’t an abrupt blip designed to correct itself. Bridges’ basket pressure in the half-court has been descending over time, settling into the career-low nadir it hit this year. Look at the share of his half-court shots that have come at the basket since entering the league:
- 2025-26: 11 percent
- 2024-25: 11.7 percent
- 2023-24: 14.2 percent
- 2022-23: 12.1 percent
- 2021-22: 14.6 percent
- 2020-21: 14.8 percent
- 2019-20: 23.8 percent
- 2018-19: 17.2 percent
This is not an ideal trendline. Bridges has fallen in love with mid-range looks over the years. To his credit, he’s shot those at a high clip since arriving in New York. But those attempts lose value if you’re being treated or used as a third or fourth option, like Bridges is now.
The decrease in rim pressure also explains his plunging free-throw-attempt rate. Since 2024-25, across both the regular season and playoffs, he has drawn a foul on just 6.3 percent of his two-pointers. Among 274 players who have logged at least 2,000 total minutes these past two years, that mark ranks…263rd.
The issue even scales to Bridges’ activity away from the ball. As The Athletic’s Fred Katz noted, the 29-year-old has set just 12 ball screens all series. Deuce McBride, by comparison, set at a total of 15 in Games 3 and 4 alone.
This is starting to impact Bridges’ role with the Knicks
Last year, as well as for much of this season, Bridges’ lack of physicality and basket pressure didn’t subject him to stark repercussions. He was too valuable on defense, and quality efficiency from mid-range and long distance got him by.
That’s changing against the Hawks. They have two rough-and-tumble wings in Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels, both of whom can impact plays on which they’re not directly guarding the ball. Bridges has even struggled, at times, when going up against CJ McCollum, a nondescript defender who’s nevertheless not someone Mikal can or will simply look to move.
With the ball in his hands less, the mid-range value Bridges provides is muted as well. It all adds up to a severe drop in minutes unlike anything he’s experienced. Brown has been more likely to roll with Jordan Clarkson, McBride, and even Jose Alvarado.Â
Over the past two games, Bridges is eighth on the team in second-half minutes—and dead last in fourth quarter court time. Though Game 4 turned into a pull-your-starters affair, Bridges was absent from the lineup before it ever reached that point.Â
We’d be remiss to declare that he has no chance at redemption. His mid-range touch should come in handy against other defenses (like Boston’s). Whether Bridges can find an offensive wheelhouse in this series is arguable. What’s not up for debate: Regardless of the opponent, the Knicks no longer seem as apt to overlook Bridges’ aversion to contact.
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