When the New York Knicks traded away a boatload of first-round picks to bring Mikal Bridges in, they envisioned that they’ll be getting closer to the Phoenix Suns version of him — an uber-efficient three-and-D wing who can elevate the team and get them over the hump. However, during preseason and training camp, concerns grew surrounding Bridges as footage of his reworked jumpshot made the rounds on social media.
Bridges, in the process of reworking his shot, made it look uglier than it was in the past. It looked like his shot had a hitch and an odd load-up, and it showed in the way he shot the ball in preseason. And to begin the 2024-25 regular season, Bridges’ shot did not look right, prompting many fans to clown the 28-year-old forward during the Knicks’ demoralizing 132-109 defeat to the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
“Mikal Bridges became a Knick and immediately turned into Michael Kidd-Gilchrist,” X user @kiiLkenny wrote.
“mikal bridges we pouring WD40 on you,” added @londonstheory.
“Mikal Bridges shoot like he got new arms,” furthered @Mikebeenhere.
Some even went as far as to compare Bridges’ jumpshot to that of a former Knicks center in Bill Cartwright — someone who’s infamous for having one of the worst-looking jumpshots in NBA history.
Knicks fans are wondering why in the world Bridges and his camp thought that reworking his shooting form was necessary. It’s not as if Bridges came into the league not knowing how to shoot threes. Entering the 2024-25 season, Bridges career three-point percentage is 37.5 — an above-average mark, especially considering the volume with which he lets three-point attempts fly.
“Who the f**k tried to fix Bridges shot. Fire his a**,” @That90sDad wrote.
“Bring back your shooting form, Mikal Bridges. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” @izzobean added.
The good news, however, is that Bridges appeared to right the ship in the second half, even though the Knicks had long lost the game by then.
“Seems like bridges somehow managed to fix his jumpshot in the middle of the game. He’s looked solid in the second half and he doesn’t seem to have that weird hitch anymore,” @benmazztalksnba pointed out.
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The Knicks will need Bridges to be at his best self for them to contend for a championship, and at the very least, he showed signs of life in the second half of their blowout loss on opening night.
Knicks get demolished by the Celtics on opening night
It was obvious that the Knicks were still building chemistry with the way they played on Tuesday night. Their offense was disjointed at times, with the Celtics baiting them to go one on one on multiple occasions, and then on defense, they did not have the level of communication that was required to prevent Boston from popping off from deep in a historic manner.
Nonetheless, Mikal Bridges righted the ship in the second half; he scored all 16 of his points following the halftime intermission, and he did so on a clean 7-8 shooting from the field. That should quell Knicks fans’ concerns regarding his shot, at least for the moment.