Yesterday was Kat. Today is Mikal. What’s your grade for his season. Try to be civil in the comments lol
April 15, 2025
Yesterday was Kat. Today is Mikal. What’s your grade for his season. Try to be civil in the comments lol
38 comments
Ohh can’t wait for doomers to chime in.
B
B- / C+? Passable but like, fuckin’ just. Obviously high expectations coming in with how much we “spent” on him, Nova Knicks, elite defense and all that but…..
He’s had some really, really great games but has also had some inexplicable disappearances that I feel like almost balance each other out to the point where it’s been whelming.
He had a good enough season. Not sure it justifies, at least this year, the picks we gave up. But I think hes going to be good in the playoffs, sure hope
If we’re is saying just based on his season, not “was it worth the trade” i don’t see how you can go lower than B+
Needs to be more consistent both offensively and defensively, but showed up plenty of times in big moments
B-. His offense was inconsistent at times but overall as a 3rd/4th option and extra facilitator he did just fine
The defense was definitely not what we signed up for.
Just know some folks here gonna say F lol
C – based on inconsistency. Totally recognize the difficulty of finding a consistent O flow, but his defensive inconsistencies is where he’s weighted downward imo.
Id say a B. He gets really scapegoated on this sub a ton. He brought up his 3pt percentage after a horrible start and is automatic from midrange.
Ive watched his buzzer beater game winner like a million times, it was the highlight of the season for me, so A+. I’m gonna ignore all the other games lol
C
in a vaccum, mikal is a B. he has a role player mindset. he tends to dissapear behind kat and brunson, and he doesnt step up as a 1st option even in the 2nd unit.
in order for me to give him an A i needed to see brooklyn bridges alot more. hes been solid as a 4th guy but i personally expected alot more aggressiveness.
I give him a solid B. The times he was huge balance out the times he was shite. I was at that Blazer game so my take might be skewed
I’d go with B his offense was up and down but the reality is it’s hard to become the 4th option on a team after being a 1. I think what disappointed me was his defense. Maybe it’s scheme maybe not but I thought he’d be more of a ball stopper. Had some good moments remember he blocked a shot to win the game vs the hawks? But he was solid.
I think people forget and I keep preaching this on this sub. Chemistry takes more than one full season.
B or B- anything less than that is an overreaction imo
B maybe B+
For a 3/4 option he had a fine year, picks aside. I did think he’d be better defensively though.
Solid B
C+
He put up decent offensive numbers this season, but I still feel like we could have somewhat replicated his production by giving up less picks. I just don’t know if he’s worth the package we gave up for him.
Also, defensively he’s not as dominant as he should be for a player so willing to take a backseat on offense. I love that OG wants to be more involved in the offense and when it was time for him to step up, he went full Kawhi. I wish Mikal had a little more of that mindset sometimes.
C
Underwhelming, but I get the sense that next year will be much better. He doesn’t know what his role is.
Solid B- / C+
He can’t do anything about what the FO put in the deal, so that’s not on him.
We’d be a lot worse without him that’s for sure. I’d also like to see how he’d look in a more offensive minded offense.
Stand out moments were the Xmas game against the Spurs and the game winner against the Blazers, let’s see how he does in the playoffs. One of our more experienced playoff guys.
C+
Jeez. Don’t realize he was shooting that high of a % from the field. Especially with how little he gets to the rim and how many incredibly difficult mid range shots he takes. That’s quite impressive. The 3pt% is a little low but that was entirely due to his slow start, he was the 3pt shooter we expected for the last 60-65 games of the season.
Defense was where he was underwhelming for me. He did great against guards but he was subpar against wings. I was expecting better on that front.
B-
C-… below average for him.
Lots of good takes here but Probably a B. If you include his performance based on draft package, probably a C/C-.
Still a small portion of the sub wants Divo instead of Mikal. Love Divo but the reality is, the Wolves FO would be driving him to the airport if it meant trading him for Mikal.
Somewhere between a C+ and a B-
I think B is the right answer here. I’ll share my pros and cons:
Pros
1. .500% field goal percentage. Highest since his time in Phoenix, yet he is taking more shots. His efficiency has been very good overall.
2. Stepped up when Brunson was injured. The team went 9-6 during this time and both him and OG were very solid. We could have easily lost a few games here and slipped to the 4 seed.
3. One of the best corner 3 percentages in the NBA. We need to distribute better on penetration to get the ball in the corners. This is not the fault of Mikal.
4. Some clutch moments on both offense and defense such as against Brooklyn, Atlanta, Christmas Spurs game, Chicago and Portland.
5. 2nd highest plus minus on the team behind KAT. Say what you want about the number, but when compared against teammates over a long duration of time, the number does have some important context.
6. Improvement in FT percentage. He started horrendously and got the number up to a respectable 81%
7. Looks to get his teammates involved. Of the guys, he seems to be the main guy to look to involve his teammates when penetrating the paint. He tends to look for guys like Hart, OG, Shamet and Payne.
8. Most importantly, durability and availability. It is very important to ensure that you always have options when injuries happened to other players.
Cons:
1. His defense is not where it should be, especially compared to his earlier Phoenix days. Whether this is fatigue, age or something else, it simply needs to improve if we want to go far.
2. The three point shot is not as good as I expected. I was hoping. to see around 37-38% but it’s closer to 35-36%.
3. Disappears in bigger games. This is one of the most important things. He needs to be better in games against the top teams. His numbers are not good enough.
4. Needs to be more agressive on offense. The other half of #8 above. Sometimes you need to take that mid-range fadeaway instead of trying to pass to non-confident Hart. Sometimes when Bridges has a bad start shooting, he also defers his shot. I’d like to see him be more agressive, even when it’s not going in.
5. Sometimes he loses focus and can be laxadasical. I attest this to his heavy minutes and consecutive games. It’s hard to be focused 100% of the time, especially when the regular season is mostly meaningless.
Funny how you would sign up for those stats at the start of the season
I didn’t realize he was at 18 PPG, that’s more than he let on. Expected better 3% and at times he look lost on defense. I still like him as a player but give his debut a: B-
B-
I wanted to give him a B however the permiter defense bouyed with the lack of getting to the free throw line is why I feel he’s just not what we were hoping he would be for this team.
He very well could have a massive post season though
This is what I say to all the criticism he’s been getting, let’s say the haters are right and he is at times the worst knick on the court.
Take every teams worst starter and line them all up. Where does Mikal rank against these guys?
Is 5 picks a lot? Sure. But if Mikal Bridges is the worst player on the floor for you, that is a luxury in itself.
B+
Great teammate and locker room presence. Willingness to take big shots. Perfect attendance Solid defender
He gives us another option other than Brunson for closing out games. He’s got ice in his veins and for that I’m gonna give him extra credit. His midrange shots are as automatic as it gets. He’s got room to grow on D. B+
After all the pre season iron man vs. thibs talk, I love the fact that he was able to play every game.
Him being healthy and available is an underrated part of his game.
B.
To the doomers he’s the new Randle but I cant hate on his first reason getting used to another role yet and a whole team trying to figure it out. I just hope he shows up for the playoffs
He’s a solid B.
He has the “5 draft picks” sticker on his forehead and that’s how people judge him.
He’s talented enough to become an A imho, needs to play more with the second unit.
The negative, his point of attack defense has been inconsistent, sometimes he stops elite players like Morant and then the next day he’s owned by some random role player.
But overall, I’m willing to ride with Mikal another year.
Also, my favorite performance by a Knick player in the regular season goes to him, that 41-point christmas game was memorable.
38 comments
Ohh can’t wait for doomers to chime in.
B
B- / C+? Passable but like, fuckin’ just. Obviously high expectations coming in with how much we “spent” on him, Nova Knicks, elite defense and all that but…..
He’s had some really, really great games but has also had some inexplicable disappearances that I feel like almost balance each other out to the point where it’s been whelming.
He had a good enough season. Not sure it justifies, at least this year, the picks we gave up. But I think hes going to be good in the playoffs, sure hope
If we’re is saying just based on his season, not “was it worth the trade” i don’t see how you can go lower than B+
Needs to be more consistent both offensively and defensively, but showed up plenty of times in big moments
B-. His offense was inconsistent at times but overall as a 3rd/4th option and extra facilitator he did just fine
The defense was definitely not what we signed up for.
Just know some folks here gonna say F lol
C – based on inconsistency. Totally recognize the difficulty of finding a consistent O flow, but his defensive inconsistencies is where he’s weighted downward imo.
Id say a B. He gets really scapegoated on this sub a ton. He brought up his 3pt percentage after a horrible start and is automatic from midrange.
Ive watched his buzzer beater game winner like a million times, it was the highlight of the season for me, so A+. I’m gonna ignore all the other games lol
C
in a vaccum, mikal is a B. he has a role player mindset. he tends to dissapear behind kat and brunson, and he doesnt step up as a 1st option even in the 2nd unit.
in order for me to give him an A i needed to see brooklyn bridges alot more. hes been solid as a 4th guy but i personally expected alot more aggressiveness.
I give him a solid B. The times he was huge balance out the times he was shite. I was at that Blazer game so my take might be skewed
I’d go with B his offense was up and down but the reality is it’s hard to become the 4th option on a team after being a 1. I think what disappointed me was his defense. Maybe it’s scheme maybe not but I thought he’d be more of a ball stopper. Had some good moments remember he blocked a shot to win the game vs the hawks? But he was solid.
I think people forget and I keep preaching this on this sub. Chemistry takes more than one full season.
B or B- anything less than that is an overreaction imo
B maybe B+
For a 3/4 option he had a fine year, picks aside. I did think he’d be better defensively though.
Solid B
C+
He put up decent offensive numbers this season, but I still feel like we could have somewhat replicated his production by giving up less picks. I just don’t know if he’s worth the package we gave up for him.
Also, defensively he’s not as dominant as he should be for a player so willing to take a backseat on offense. I love that OG wants to be more involved in the offense and when it was time for him to step up, he went full Kawhi. I wish Mikal had a little more of that mindset sometimes.
C
Underwhelming, but I get the sense that next year will be much better. He doesn’t know what his role is.
Solid B- / C+
He can’t do anything about what the FO put in the deal, so that’s not on him.
We’d be a lot worse without him that’s for sure. I’d also like to see how he’d look in a more offensive minded offense.
Stand out moments were the Xmas game against the Spurs and the game winner against the Blazers, let’s see how he does in the playoffs. One of our more experienced playoff guys.
C+
Jeez. Don’t realize he was shooting that high of a % from the field. Especially with how little he gets to the rim and how many incredibly difficult mid range shots he takes. That’s quite impressive. The 3pt% is a little low but that was entirely due to his slow start, he was the 3pt shooter we expected for the last 60-65 games of the season.
Defense was where he was underwhelming for me. He did great against guards but he was subpar against wings. I was expecting better on that front.
B-
C-… below average for him.
Lots of good takes here but Probably a B. If you include his performance based on draft package, probably a C/C-.
Still a small portion of the sub wants Divo instead of Mikal. Love Divo but the reality is, the Wolves FO would be driving him to the airport if it meant trading him for Mikal.
Somewhere between a C+ and a B-
I think B is the right answer here. I’ll share my pros and cons:
Pros
1. .500% field goal percentage. Highest since his time in Phoenix, yet he is taking more shots. His efficiency has been very good overall.
2. Stepped up when Brunson was injured. The team went 9-6 during this time and both him and OG were very solid. We could have easily lost a few games here and slipped to the 4 seed.
3. One of the best corner 3 percentages in the NBA. We need to distribute better on penetration to get the ball in the corners. This is not the fault of Mikal.
4. Some clutch moments on both offense and defense such as against Brooklyn, Atlanta, Christmas Spurs game, Chicago and Portland.
5. 2nd highest plus minus on the team behind KAT. Say what you want about the number, but when compared against teammates over a long duration of time, the number does have some important context.
6. Improvement in FT percentage. He started horrendously and got the number up to a respectable 81%
7. Looks to get his teammates involved. Of the guys, he seems to be the main guy to look to involve his teammates when penetrating the paint. He tends to look for guys like Hart, OG, Shamet and Payne.
8. Most importantly, durability and availability. It is very important to ensure that you always have options when injuries happened to other players.
Cons:
1. His defense is not where it should be, especially compared to his earlier Phoenix days. Whether this is fatigue, age or something else, it simply needs to improve if we want to go far.
2. The three point shot is not as good as I expected. I was hoping. to see around 37-38% but it’s closer to 35-36%.
3. Disappears in bigger games. This is one of the most important things. He needs to be better in games against the top teams. His numbers are not good enough.
4. Needs to be more agressive on offense. The other half of #8 above. Sometimes you need to take that mid-range fadeaway instead of trying to pass to non-confident Hart. Sometimes when Bridges has a bad start shooting, he also defers his shot. I’d like to see him be more agressive, even when it’s not going in.
5. Sometimes he loses focus and can be laxadasical. I attest this to his heavy minutes and consecutive games. It’s hard to be focused 100% of the time, especially when the regular season is mostly meaningless.
Funny how you would sign up for those stats at the start of the season
I didn’t realize he was at 18 PPG, that’s more than he let on. Expected better 3% and at times he look lost on defense. I still like him as a player but give his debut a: B-
B-
I wanted to give him a B however the permiter defense bouyed with the lack of getting to the free throw line is why I feel he’s just not what we were hoping he would be for this team.
He very well could have a massive post season though
This is what I say to all the criticism he’s been getting, let’s say the haters are right and he is at times the worst knick on the court.
Take every teams worst starter and line them all up. Where does Mikal rank against these guys?
Is 5 picks a lot? Sure. But if Mikal Bridges is the worst player on the floor for you, that is a luxury in itself.
B+
Great teammate and locker room presence.
Willingness to take big shots.
Perfect attendance
Solid defender
He gives us another option other than Brunson for closing out games. He’s got ice in his veins and for that I’m gonna give him extra credit. His midrange shots are as automatic as it gets. He’s got room to grow on D. B+
After all the pre season iron man vs. thibs talk, I love the fact that he was able to play every game.
Him being healthy and available is an underrated part of his game.
B.
To the doomers he’s the new Randle but I cant hate on his first reason getting used to another role yet and a whole team trying to figure it out. I just hope he shows up for the playoffs
He’s a solid B.
He has the “5 draft picks” sticker on his forehead and that’s how people judge him.
He’s talented enough to become an A imho, needs to play more with the second unit.
The negative, his point of attack defense has been inconsistent, sometimes he stops elite players like Morant and then the next day he’s owned by some random role player.
But overall, I’m willing to ride with Mikal another year.
Also, my favorite performance by a Knick player in the regular season goes to him, that 41-point christmas game was memorable.