Tom Thibodeau has started to show his tougher side. The New York Knicks coach is currently dealing with an inconsistent start to the season. OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns are all adjusting to a new system on both ends of the floor.
The Knicks fell to a shocking 121-106 loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday, November 23. Bridges, who was struggling to score, shooting 3-of-15 from the field, found himself glued to the bench. Instead, Thibodeau turned to Cameron Payne as he tried to score off the bench.
During the postgame press conference, Bridges accepted Thibodeau’s decision. The former Villanova Wildcat accepted that his offensive struggles forced the Knicks coach to make a tough decision.
“I get it,” Bridges said. “We’re trying to win a game, and that’s all I care about, so I think it was the right call… Cam came in and was playing well. He was part of that team that was making that run,” Bridges noted in Popper’s report. “So I was more just frustrated that I couldn’t be there to help the team and frustrated that the first three quarters I was there, I couldn’t do much.”
Despite playing a lot of minutes, Bridges is still figuring out his role in the Knicks rotation.