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After the Knicks win over the Raptors in Toronto last week, when Bridges scored 30 points, his answer on the MSG Network broadcast went viral for how honest he was. Bridges admitted that he was “feeling too entitled” and “wasn’t being coachable.” That realization wasn’t prompted by the coaching staff or his teammates — it came from within. “I think my biggest thing is being accountable, accountability,” Bridges told The Post after the win over the Lakers Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. “You spend a lot of time by yourself, so just trying to realize what I gotta do to be better. I think that was one of the big things — I wasn’t being accountable enough for things that were happening. And not me being coachable as well, as I should.”
According to Highkin, the Blazers are willing to act as a third team — if they get a player they really like. But Highkin doesn’t think Mikal Bridges (Knicks) or Jalen McDaniels (Timberwolves) would fit that bill. As Highkin writes, the Blazers were interested in Bridges, but that was a few years ago when he was obviously younger and on a more team-friendly contract, not the four-year, $150MM extension that will begin next season.
Some extra days of practice recently have given the Knicks an opportunity to change that. Now, they have switched to a scheme that emphasizes forcing ball-handlers to the baseline and sideline in order to keep the ball out of the middle and the paint — much more common around the league. “I think it’s better for us, the way we’re doing it now,” Bridges said. “I think it was a little bit, maybe, tougher for us, how we used to do it. But I think it’s better for us now. … I think just everybody knows what we’re doing and what we’re sending to the ball and stuff like that. “I think our defense has been so much better. Everybody’s been on a string, knowing what we’re doing. It’s been great.”
Per league sources, the Knicks will be one of several teams that have and will continue to inquire heavily about Antetokounmpo. The Bucks are looking for a premier young player(s) and multiple, good draft picks in exchange for one of the three best players in the NBA. The Knicks have neither of those, and to get close to what the Bucks are asking for, New York would need to trade two or three players in its starting lineup, most likely OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and/or Karl-Anthony Towns. The latter two, per multiple league sources, aren’t believed to have the same value today as when the Knicks traded for them, so that could be a hurdle in itself. It’s unclear if the Knicks and Dolan are willing to give up their hopes of making the finals this season in order to acquire Antetokounmpo sooner rather than later. New York hasn’t been as good as many projected coming into the season, but it’s still a good team and the Eastern Conference’s only dominant squad is the young Pistons.
Kristian Winfield: Full Mikal Bridges quote on how his poor shooting nights in recent games spurred a night like tonight's 30-point eruption: "A lot. I think a lot of it comes from not just shooting the ball, but I wasn't playing how I was supposed to be playing. I wasn't coachable enough. I don't know what it was. Maybe I felt too much entitlement, but I had to just talk to myself about it and be coachable, be the best teammate I can be and let the basketball speak for itself."
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Blazers officials have always viewed Giannis Antetokounmpo's potential Milwaukee exit as a chance to improve their own roster by jumping into a multi-team deal. So there is absolutely a down-the-road world where the Blazers could try to butt into, say, Milwaukee/New York talks if Giannis-to-the-Knicks ever got serious. File this away as well: League sources say Portland has long admired New York's Mikal Bridges going back to Lillard's first stint as a Blazer.
Bub Carrington does not regard his newest accomplishment as a big deal. But the numbers reveal how rare his achievement is. On Thursday night, when his Washington Wizards host the Denver Nuggets, he will play in his 125th consecutive regular-season NBA game. Streaks like Carrington’s don’t happen often. He owns the NBA’s fourth-longest active consecutive games streak, trailing only the New York Knicks’ Mikal Bridges and the San Antonio Spurs’ Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie, according to Sportradar.
Chris Mannix: So, are the Knicks thinking about taking a big swing, with the caveat that a lot can change should the Bucks make Giannis Antetokounmpo available? The answer, from what I’m told, is no. The Knicks are not looking to do a deal involving Karl-Anthony Towns. They’re not looking to do a deal involving Mikal Bridges.
Ian Begley: Hard to overstate how bad this loss was for Knicks. They'd lost 8 of 10 coming into DAL game. They had Jalen Brunson & Josh Hart back from injuries. And they were playing a shorthanded Dallas team. They trailed by as many as 30 in 2nd half. Starters had 13 turnovers. Brunson missed 15 of 24 shots. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges combined for 16 points in 64 minutes. NYK defense was abysmal. Worst loss of the season and arguably worse loss of the Brunson era.
In that loss to the Pistons, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns took just four shots apiece and finished with five and six points, respectively. Mikal Bridges had just 10 points. Brunson, meanwhile, took 21 shots — more than double any of his teammates — and recorded 25 points. “I was watching the game [Monday] night and I’m, like ‘Where’s KAT? Where’s OG? We can’t rely on [Tyler] Kolek like that,” Anthony said. “What he gives us is a plus. He can get down, he can play off pick-and-roll, but on a night-to-night basis, who’s gonna be the Knicks’ second option? And the second option cannot be indecisive. … KAT can’t have six [points] and one [rebound] and OG gotta step up.”
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Ian Begley: Knicks snap 4-game losing streak with balanced scoring against a Clippers defense that had been playing well. Starting lineup featuring Miles McBride combined for 97 pts on 52% shooting; McBride, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges & Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 23 assists & 5 TOs
“I’m so used to playing a lot so — even though I’m still playing a lot. But sometimes I might get subbed out and I’m looking like, ‘What?’ So I know something’s right [with my body playing fewer minutes],” Bridges said. “Because I freak out sometimes, like, ‘You’re getting me [out]?’ But then I’ll sit down and come back in after a couple minutes or something. So it’s something to get used to. “But that’s also about building relationship with my coaches and stuff. As a player, it’s tough. You might miss a couple shots, you might mess up defensively, and you’re prepping yourself to make the next play and you might get subbed out and you’ll be questioning yourself, like coach does not [like] this and that. But sometimes you need a break, you know? So I think that’s just building your relationship with the coach and building that trust to know, all right, if I’m thinking I’m struggling or I’m thinking this and that. And it’s just a breather. That’s building the communication and that relationship comes a long way.”
Brian Windhorst: I mentioned Mikal Bridges. A lot of people talk about the trade. I get it. Not everybody loved that extension that he signed over the summer, even though I think the Knicks were pretty happy to get him at that number. He's having an excellent season. He's shooting his highest I think in four or five years, shooting over 40% from three, 41% from three going into tonight, averaging more than a block a game and two steals a game. His plus minus has just routinely been really good.
Ian Begley: Knicks improve to 13-1 at home with 6-point win over Orlando. Knicks get first win vs Magic (1-2 overall). OG Anunoby had 21 points, went 5-for-7 from three. Mikal Bridges had 7 assists, helped lead a strong defensive effort. Another 30-point game from Jalen Brunson (9 assists)
