Miles McBride understands the premise. As one of many Knicks’ higher perimeter defenders, he sees the workload Mikal Bridges carries on a nightly foundation.
It’s why McBride is yelling “First Team All-Defense!” at his locker.
As a result of 9 occasions out of 10, it’s Bridges who’s chargeable for guarding the opposing staff’s finest participant.
That is his new life after the commerce that despatched 4 first-round picks plus a decide swap to the Nets for his companies.
On many nights, Bridges has misplaced his matchup, and though defending the league’s elite gamers is extra a perform of staff protection than particular person effort, it’s the burden he singularly wears because the staff’s devoted level of assault defender.
For Bridges, Monday was not a kind of nights.
As a substitute, many in attendance as a part of a sellout Madison Sq. Backyard crowd for the Knicks’ Monday evening victory over the Atlanta Hawks rose to their toes and applauded Bridges’ unrelenting effort.
It occurred with simply over six minutes left within the first quarter: Bridges hounded artful Hawks’ All-Star Trae Younger, The Backyard’s cheers intensifying each time the Knicks star cut-off considered one of Younger’s driving lanes.
The Backyard then erupted when Bridges compelled a 24-second shot clock violation on one of many extra gifted scorers in all of basketball.
“I know he’s crafty and didn’t want him to score, and I know my teammates have my back and just trying to guard him,” Bridges mentioned after the sport. “I heard The Garden. It got loud.”
Younger completed with a team-high 27 factors however shot an inefficient 8-of-22 from the sphere. He turned the ball over 9 occasions to only six assists, his decision-making troubles exacerbated underneath the stress Bridges utilized from the opening tip.
“To guard Trae; he’s such a tough cover. And there’s a million pick-and-rolls you have to defend. Sometimes you can defend them really well and he can make [a shot],” head coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned after the sport. “So I thought he was really disciplined. You have to be that. And he kept going. So I think that’s important.”
It was particularly welcoming given the Knicks’ struggles stopping Younger and the Hawks earlier this season. Monday’s victory was solely a month and per week faraway from one of many extra embarrassing losses of the Knicks season, an NBA Cup quarterfinal loss Younger punctuated by rolling a set of imaginary die on The Backyard’s center-court brand.
Younger shot 8-of-22 that evening, and 7-of-21 from the sphere towards the Knicks on Nov. 6 — each wins over New York — however logged double-digit assists on with three or fewer turnovers on each events.
Bridges’ defensive effort made the distinction on Monday.
And it’s what the Knicks have to see extra of — as a result of the challenges received’t cease any time quickly.
OG Anunoby has not primarily guarded level guards in Thibodeau’s defensive scheme. It’s largely Bridges tasked with chasing across the opponent’s lead guard. Which means battles with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell and, towards the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum.
“The thing you appreciate about what he does is he does it every night,” mentioned Thibodeau. “Every night there’s a tough cover. He doesn’t run away from it. He embraces it. That’s what you need.”
Bridges is trying to anchor the New York protection from the outside-in. That is his new life on the opposite facet of the Brooklyn Bridge. The offense has come alongside, and his 26 factors on 12-of-17 capturing helped raise the Knicks to victory, however offense isn’t the issue in New York.
Fixing the protection is high precedence, and if Bridges can guard each evening the way in which he did towards Younger, it is going to be an enormous step in the appropriate path — although his job description requires guarding gamers who receives a commission lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} to get by any defender, Bridges included.
“It’s a good challenge. That’s what I’m here for. That’s what I get paid for,” he mentioned. “And like I always said, I got my teammates behind me so it’s never just me against that guy. So it’s just team defense and try my best to try to disrupt.”
“It’s the league. Every night is gonna be somebody different, and I feel like for him, he’s just a person where it’s like, he’s gonna do whatever he can to slow them down,” McBride added. “I feel like his approach to every night knowing that he’s gonna have that challenge has been great for us.”
