Mikal Bridges had an awkward start as a member of the New York Knicks. Bridges seemed like a major missing piece. He was widely considered an ideal third star who just happened to be playing early as the Brooklyn Nets’ best player. So joining the Knicks was a logical choice, given that he was set to be a supplementary star behind Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. But plans changed. New York traded Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns, a move that destabilized the roster by removing some depth and resulting in less familiarity among the starters.
On a more personal level, Bridges also struggled early. He weakened his jump shot before joining the Knicks. That change was seemingly designed to get him a higher release point. It didn’t work out well. Bridges shot just 2-of-19 from three-point range in four preseason games. And his start to the regular season looked similarly weak. He was 0-for-4 from three in the first half of the season opener.
Sure, Bridges made two of his three 3-pointers in the second half of that first game, but his struggles weren’t over yet. He shot just 30.8% on three-point attempts in the first 10 games of the season and topped 20 points just once. Comparatively, Bridges made 37.2% of his three-pointers last season and is averaging 19.6 points per game in 2023-24.
Fortunately, Bridges has been playing better lately. He scored 20 or more points in three straight games before Monday’s blowout win over the Washington Wizards, and he shot eight of 21 from three-point range (38%) in those three games.