Mikal Bridges has publicly acknowledged his shooting struggles and vowed to improve, stating in an interview Friday that he must "be better" for the New York Knicks. Bridges has been candid about his performance, repeating the sentiment eight times in a three-minute conversation.
"I just look in the mirror, I just got to be better," Bridges said. "Nobody else to blame but me, and I just got to go out there and, whatever it is, just be better and go harder."
Before Friday's game against the Pacers, Bridges was shooting 32.9 percent from the field and 26.5 percent from three-point range, even on open looks. This slump has led to reduced playing time, with head coach Mike Brown benching Bridges for significant stretches and sometimes closing games with reserves like Landry Shamet.
"When times are tough, you just gotta own up to it and just be better," Bridges stated. He noted that after playing 17 minutes or fewer in four of the last 11 games, Brown had indicated it would be "hard to find minutes" for him.
Despite having $150 million tied up in his contract, Bridges emphasized he isn't waiting for a playoff surge as he has in past seasons. "I try to be my best throughout the whole year. Obviously, struggles come, which obviously nobody wants, but like I said, in these moments, gotta look in the mirror, and you’re tested the most and just see what you’re made of," he said. "So, just gotta be better."
This self-critical approach contrasts with Bridges' comments last season, when he attributed a slump to a lack of opportunity. "Sometimes you try to get open, and sometimes it doesn’t find me. Just try to find ways to stay aggressive," he said in March before a strong playoff run.
Brown has resisted removing Bridges from the starting lineup, calling it a "panic decision" early in the season, though a crowded wing rotation with Josh Hart, Shamet, and Deuce McBride presents challenges.
In Friday's game, Bridges scored a season-high 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Hart struggled with zero points on 0-for-4 shooting. "There are several different ways you can look at it," Hart commented on the team's rotation. "You can look at it, if [Shamet and McBride] have it going, cool. Good. You could you look at it like, ‘OK, maybe something else has to change [like a trade].’ But there’s going to good days with that, bad days."
The Knicks also faced a significant free-throw discrepancy in the loss. They shot 13 free throws compared to the Pacers' 25. Brown expressed frustration over this, particularly noting that Jalen Brunson, an All-Star, took zero free throws in the first half. "The discrepancy shouldn’t be that bad two games in a row," Brown said, referencing a similar issue in a previous game against the Cavaliers.