Mikal Bridges Has Gone Quiet - and the Knicks Are Feeling It
When the New York Knicks swung for the fences to land Mikal Bridges, they weren’t just making a splash - they were signaling that the time to win is now. That blockbuster deal with the Nets wasn’t about potential or patience.
It was about plugging in a proven two-way force who could elevate a team that believed it was on the cusp of contention. But over the last month, Bridges has been more of a ghost than a game-changer, and the Knicks are paying the price.
Let’s be clear: Bridges hasn’t been sidelined or slowed by injury. He’s still logging minutes, still taking the floor every night - a true ironman in a league where availability is often half the battle. But what’s missing is the edge, the impact, the assertiveness that made him such a coveted piece in the first place.
In the last month, Bridges has cracked the 20-point mark just once - a solid outing against the Warriors. Before that?
You have to rewind all the way to December 21 against Miami to find another game where he made a significant dent in the scoring column. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that gave up a king’s ransom to bring him in.
And let’s not forget what that ransom looked like: Bojan Bogdanovic, five first-round picks, a pick swap, and a second-rounder. That’s not just a trade - that’s a franchise-altering decision.
The kind of move that says, “We’re betting big on this guy.” And right now, the return isn’t matching the investment.
The Knicks’ offense has felt the ripple effects. Mike Brown’s system is still finding its footing, and when Bridges fades into the background, the whole operation looks disjointed. The ball sticks, the spacing shrinks, and the pressure on guys like Karl-Anthony Towns - who’s been struggling himself - only intensifies.
Bridges is averaging 15.8 points per game this season, his lowest since 2021-22. That’s not disastrous on its own, but the context matters.
The Knicks didn’t trade for a role player. They traded for a difference-maker - someone who could step up when the roster thins out, someone who could carry the load when others are off their game.
That hasn’t happened.
Even his defense, the foundation of his reputation, has been hit-or-miss. The effort is there, but the disruptive plays - the deflections, the lockdown possessions, the momentum-swinging stops - have been sporadic. And when Bridges isn’t making noise on either end, it’s hard for the Knicks to find their rhythm.
The timing couldn’t be worse. New York has dropped seven of its last ten.
The top of the East is slipping out of reach, and the Knicks are now just 2.5 games from the play-in line. Injuries have opened the door for Bridges to assert himself.
Instead, he’s been quiet - and the team’s margin for error is vanishing.
Here’s the thing: the Knicks don’t need Bridges to be a 30-point scorer. They don’t need him to be the loudest player on the floor.
But they do need him to matter. To tilt matchups.
To be the guy who makes life easier for everyone else on both ends of the court.
Right now, that’s not happening. And until it does, the Knicks’ championship dreams are going to feel more like a mirage than a mission.