Mikal Bridges doesn’t see the Cleveland Cavaliers’ continuity because the deciding issue on opening evening at Madison Sq. Backyard on Wednesday.
“Obviously we have a new coach and new staff and learning everything, so they have that advantage,” Bridges mentioned after follow on the workforce’s Tarrytown facility on Tuesday. “However that also don’t imply nothing when the sport begins and we have now that aggressive nature on the market for all of us simply competing making an attempt to win.
“Yeah, we’re excited.”
The Knicks might be as excited as they need. Historical past says they need to brace for turbulence.
Final summer time, New York pushed its chips in — buying and selling 5 first-round picks for Bridges, transport Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota for Karl-Anthony Cities, and studying that Mitchell Robinson’s restoration from ankle surgical procedure would stretch deeper into the yr than hoped.
The payoff? A lopsided loss to Boston on opening evening — a harsh welcome for a workforce nonetheless studying itself.
A yr later, the parallels are arduous to disregard. Robinson and Josh Hart stay query marks for Wednesday’s season opener, each having missed prolonged follow time. Knicks starters sat greater than they performed via 5 preseason video games, stalling their capability to totally grasp new head coach Mike Brown’s offensive and defensive techniques.
And whereas Cleveland isn’t the defending champion, the problem is almost as steep. The Cavaliers received 64 video games final season and enter 12 months 4 of a core constructed round Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen — a gaggle that’s grown collectively whereas New York’s roster has been reshaped virtually fully during the last two years.
“They’ve been together,” Bridges mentioned. “Obviously we’ve been together for about a year, some guys a year and a half. But [Cleveland’s] coaching staff, I’m pretty sure they came into camp knowing exactly from Day 1 what they’ve been doing.”
Brown’s message has been constant because the first day of camp: This can be a marathon, not a dash.
“The good thing about it is the finals or the championship round doesn’t happen until June, so we’ve got a long time to get there,” Brown mentioned after follow on Tuesday. “So it begins on the each day. We will’t skip any steps. Each time you’re on the ground collectively, daily off, you simply need to preserve taking steps as a result of it’s gonna be a course of figuring out that you could be take one or two steps backwards, however hopefully we are able to regroup and take three, 4, 5 [steps] ahead.
“And it’s not just about me doing that or me being the catalyst because I was hired. It’s about the entire group. We have to be connected as a group and believe in each other. And if we do that, and we truly understand that it’s a marathon and it’s one day, one game, one shootaround, one practice at a time, then the path will lead us where we need to go.”
That path begins with Mitchell. Garland is predicted to be restricted with a toe harm suffered in camp, which means Mitchell will shoulder the offensive load. The Knicks know that story nicely: Mitchell has averaged 27 factors in his final 5 video games in opposition to New York, together with a regular-season sweep punctuated by 37- and 19-point blowouts.
Bridges, New York’s high perimeter defender, will probably take the project.
“Just how skillful he is, everything’s so deliberate. I think even how he works [in practice] is how he plays in a game,” mentioned Bridges, who praised Mitchell’s improvement as a playmaker. “I believe that’s been a giant progress out of his sport. He might all the time rating, even when he was in Utah … however as he’s grown into the participant he’s, he’s been in a position to rating and play-make as nicely.
“So just knowing that: three-level scorer, about 5-foot-10 with a size 17 shoe that can jump 50 inches in the air, so he’s just unorthodox a little bit.”
If the Knicks’ offense sputters, count on a heavy dose of Jalen Brunson. The All-NBA guard averaged just below 25 factors in his final 4 video games in opposition to Cleveland, and Wednesday’s matchup with Mitchell might showcase two of the East’s premier guards going head-to-head once more.
“There are a lot of talented guys in this league, but usually the great ones are able to separate themselves from the talented, really good players because their competitiveness is probably a little higher as well as their consistency,” Brown mentioned of Brunson and Mitchell. “They consistently bring it at a highly competitive level every single time they step on the floor.”
The Knicks are embracing the problem — utilizing a high-level opponent as an early barometer for progress, at the same time as they brace for the rising pains that include chasing one thing larger by season’s finish.
“I honestly think there’s no easy game. It’s the NBA and a lot of teams are really good and there’s teams that might not have enough wins that are really good teams,” mentioned Bridges. “But a team like Cleveland who’s on top of the East, who wouldn’t want that challenge? That’s what you want. You want to see where you’re at Game 1. Obviously so many months to the end of the season, but it’s a good test to see a couple of the top teams that’ve been in the East what they look like to begin the season.”
Initially Revealed: October 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM EDT
