then his $150 million contract extension certainly did<\/a>.<\/p>\nBut the new system under new Knicks head coach Mike Brown might be perfectly suited for Bridges. <\/p>\n
Their wing can be one of the best runners in the NBA \u2014 and might be the best one, Brown said. <\/p>\n
Their offense now relies on flow and pace and movement, allowing Bridges to bolt from the corner to the rim to anywhere in between. \u201cTwo of his strides,\u201d Brown said, \u201cequal six of my strides.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in his career, Bridges built his reputation around defense, finishing as the runner-up for defensive player of the year in 2021-22 with the Suns. <\/p>\n
Then, with the Nets, he needed to morph into a primary scoring option who could attempt between 15 and 18 shots per game. <\/p>\n
Bridges was supposed to mesh both together as a Knick \u2014 and at times, he did en route to averaging 17.6 points per game and finishing with his best defensive rating (112.9) since 2021-22. <\/p>\n
But in Year 2, he\u2019ll get a chance to showcase that more consistently.<\/p>\n
Mikal Bridges\u2019 various skill sets could fit well into Mike Brown\u2019s new Knicks system. Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can get out and go,\u201d Brown said. \u201cHe\u2019s got long strides. Everything\u2019s real fluid. He\u2019s long. And now when he does that, it puts a lot of pressure on our opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bridges, known for his iron-man streak and never missing a game, quickly encountered a rocky first year after the blockbuster trade. <\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t collect his second 20-point game until the third week of the season. The high of his 41-point gem on Christmas Day was accompanied by two scoreless outings and 10 single-digit performances.<\/p>\n
Knicks head coach Mike Brown\u2019s up-tempo offense is a good fit for Mikal Bridges. Reuters<\/p>\n
But unlike with the Nets, he didn\u2019t necessarily need to serve as the leading scorer within a unit also featuring Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. <\/p>\n
Bridges could serve as the other Knicks wing alongside OG Anunoby and help spark transition offense, and he finished with the most miles accumulated (231.10) in the league during the regular season.<\/p>\n
That wrinkle could benefit Bridges in Brown\u2019s offense. <\/p>\n
During one of the Knicks preseason games in Abu Dhabi last week, Bridges caught a ball in the corner, kicked it out and then re-spaced correctly after Brunson dropped into the corner \u2014 recognizing the Knicks couldn\u2019t have two players in the same spot, Brown said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as he landed, he took a stride and a half and he was at the rim,\u201d Brown said, \u201cand he was wide open and he got the dunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Knicks coaching staff has plenty of overlap with Bridges from previous spots, too \u2014 with assistant Riccardo Fois on the Suns player development staff from 2019-21 and assistant Mark Bryant a Phoenix assistant from 2019-23. <\/p>\n
They know his strengths. The playoffs last year, when Bridges averaged 15.6 points and delivered impact moments, displayed them, too. <\/p>\n
If everything with the Knicks offense operates correctly, they can shine again, Brown said.<\/p>\n
Mikal Bridges drives to the basket during the Knicks\u2019 preseason win over the 76ers on Oct. 4, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n
In between those possessions, he\u2019ll get tasked with guarding point guards some nights, chasing shooting guards on others. Bridges\u2019 staple will remain his staple. <\/p>\n
An ability to fight through screens and guard the point of attack has given Brown versatility to work with, to the point where, if Reggie Miller was still playing, \u201cI\u2019d throw him on Reggie,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s happening on and off the Garden court\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll mix it up,\u201d Brown said, when asked if he\u2019s talked to Bridges about remaining the point-of-attack defender. \u201cHe won\u2019t always be at the point of the ball. He won\u2019t always chase shooters. But I haven\u2019t asked him because I know he\u2019s elite at it. He knows he\u2019s elite at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The presence of Bridges on defense can help the Knicks compensate for their weaker pieces in Brunson and Towns. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The presence of Bridges on offense can give them another dynamic scorer when needed \u2014 especially if defenses zero in on Brunson, zero in on Towns and force those around them to win games.<\/p>\n
Bridges struggled to blend everything together last year. Even when he pieced them together eventually, he sensed there was more. And the arrival of Brown \u2014 as well as the system he brought with him \u2014 could help.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust be better throughout the whole year,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cStart the season off strong, be better than I was last year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mikal Bridges knew people thought he produced a strong postseason. That he finally combined the flashes of offensive…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":287990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[7195,24282,1260,3122,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-287989","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-mikal-bridges","9":"tag-mike-brown","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-new-york-knicks","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115341644499471325","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}