Over the course of an 82-game grind, it can be easy to get lost in statistical trends. The nuances contained by each of the 48 minutes of every regular season game are often lost in attempts to summarize quarters, halves, or even entire weeks of play with just a few words.
It's well-known that Mikal Bridges is in the midst of an offensive slump. Those who don't follow the New York Knicks on a game-to-game basis likely know that he's been benched in favor of Landry Shamet in several close games. But another trend has been forming just as solidly over the past two months, with the Knicks' defense allowing the fewest points scored per 100 possessions in that timeframe.
Bridges hasn't missed a single game in that stretch, even if he closed some of them out on the sidelines. It's probably going to be impossible for the wing to live up, in a traditional sense, to the five first-round picks that fans see looming over him like a rainy cloud every time he misses a jump shot. But it's impossible to tell the story of the Villanova product's season without mentioning the part he's played in the Knicks going from the middle of the pack to the top-tier on defense.
Bridges' steady value is showing as Knicks season unfolds
Simply put, the Knicks were 18th in the NBA in defensive rating in the middle of January. Through Wednesday, they're fifth behind just the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, and Boston Celtics.
That type of turnaround can't happen overnight, but the two months of league-leading defense they've played since late January has been that impactful on their season-long results. The Knicks have also had the league's sixth-best offense in that same stretch. While the defensive improvement has potentially come at the cost of some of their offensive dominance, they haven't necessarily middled out on that end of the floor.
The Knicks are playing like one of the best teams in the NBA over the last several months. It's probably because they are one of the best teams in the NBA. Their self-described "rollercoaster" of a season thus far has tested the mettles of their players, coaches, and even fans: but it seems like it's leading to the exact results that all three of those groups are hoping for.
New York is showing that their early-season struggles weren't just pains, but necessary growing pains on their way to title contention.