Mikal Bridges has had ups and downs since joining the Knicks in 2024. We’ve seen him shine in playoff games, and disappear for stretches of the regular season.
The Mikal Bridges on display during the Knicks' 114-89 win over the Spurs is exactly the player New York traded five first-round picks for. Bridges came out of the dominant win with 25 points, five steals and a team leading +21 in the plus-minus column. After the game, Bridges explained the keys to his performance, and the win.
"Just trying to get the energy going on defense, we got a lot of guys who can score, so sometimes the touches might be limited," said Bridges. "Control what I can control. and that's bringing energy on both ends and, you know, and try to make the right read and be aggressive."
Bridges emphasizes being more comfortable in new defensive scheme
Mike Brown called out the Knicks poor defensive performance after New York fell to the Spurs in early January. This time around against San Antonio, he praised his teams execution on that end of the court, pointing to keeping the ball out of the middle of the floor.
"Our guys did a pretty good job of keeping the ball out in the middle on their drives,' said Brown. "So our own ball defense was pretty good with the level of physicality and keeping it on the sidelines."
Mikal Bridges attributed the squad's defensive success to becoming more familiar with a new defensive strategy. He highlighted that big changes take time.
"Obviously if you switch your defense up, you know, it's not gonna be just automatic from the jump," said Bridges. "So, just taking time and learning each other and learning our new defense, and just doing it everyday."
Bridges stresses the importance of "helping the helper"
When asked about the Knicks' standout second quarter defense, where they opened the quarter on an 11-0 run, Bridges attributed the stand to, "helping the helper." This phrase was used multiple times by the standout wing after the win, highlighting the importance of team chemistry on defense.
Bridges broke down why helping more defensively has been effective for New York.
"I think in the past, sometimes, we're leaving guys on an island and not trusting each other," said Bridges. "Just helping the helper, I think that's the biggest thing. Knowing you got confidence to be aggressive and if you do mess up, you know you got your brother or another in there to help you."
Helping the helper seemed to work for the Knicks against the Spurs, New York generated 24 points off of takeaways and forced San Antonio into a season high 22 turnovers. If this performance was an indicator of Mikal Bridges and this Knicks squad evolving in a new defensive scheme, the team can reach a new level heading into the postseason.