The New York Knicks surprisingly lost to the Detroit Pistons 120-111. The Knicks were absolutely flat last night, and let a young Pistons team take them to the cleaners. Mikal Bridges addressed the performance after the game last night, and slammed the entire team for their poor defensive effort, not just against the Pistons, but across the season.
“Not good, not good. I think we pick and choose when. And we ain’t that good to be able to just pick when we want to play defense. I don’t think there’s any team that good, where they pick when they want to play defense. It starts with me as well, just have to be more vocal and lead by example. It’s all of us.”
Despite his comments, Bridges did put up good numbers last night. He had 20 points (8-17 FG), three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. He was one of the best defenders for the Knicks last night, along with OG Anunoby, who had four steals and two blocks.
The Knicks have not been a great defensive team this year, with a defensive rating of 114.1, which ranks 18th in the entire NBA. As a team, the Knicks average 7.3 steals per game, which is 25th out of all 30 teams in the NBA. As for blocks per game, they average 4.2 per game, 27th in the NBA.
It’s not all bad, as the Knicks have been good at limiting their opponents’ scoring off turnovers, allowing just 14.3 points off turnovers per game, which is the fourth-best in the NBA.
They also rank fourth for points off second chance, giving up just 12.4 points per game. The Knicks also rank fifth for fastbreak points conceded, with just 12.6 points per game, and eighth in points conceded in the paint with 46.2 points per game.
Mikal Bridges Finding His Form
Mikal Bridges had a rough start to the season, not delivering on the high promise many thought he had when joining the Knicks. With his initial slump, Knicks fans were worried they had given up a massive haul for a player who wouldn’t make much of an impact.
But in the last few weeks, Bridges has finally turned things around, putting on the kind of performances the Knicks were expecting when they traded for him. In his last 10 games, Bridges has averaged 16.8 points, 3.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game on 45/33/60 shooting splits.
He really impressed fans last weekend, when he outscored the entire New Orleans Pelicans team by himself in the first quarter of their game. Knicks fans, despite the loss to the Pistson, have been happy to see Bridges find his form again, as he is a crucial part of their championship aspirations this season.
The Knicks will get the chance to redeem themselves against the Toronto Raptors tomorrow night at 7:30 PM EST. Tom Thibodeau will be hoping that his players can improve their defensive efforts against the Raptors, and will have to rely on Bridges to be a leader on the court.
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