Mikal Bridges needed no introduction to Jalen Brunson or Josh Hart.
Bridges and Brunson played all three of their college seasons together at Villanova, and Hart was their teammate for two of them.
That trio helped lead the Wildcats to a national championship in 2016. Brunson and Bridges won a second NCAA title in 2018.
But that familiarity didn’t preclude Bridges from needing an adjustment period with the Knicks, even as he reunited with Brunson and Hart.
“It’s always a transition period,” Brunson said Wednesday, hours before Game 2 of the Knicks’ second-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.
“In the world we live in now — not even just basketball, but the world — you want everything now. Everything is accessible as soon as possible, so when you come to a new team or when you join something new, they want results right away. It takes time for things to develop and things to gel.”
The Knicks traded five first-round picks to the Nets to acquire Bridges last offseason.
Bridges averaged 17.6 points per game on 50% shooting in his first season with the Knicks, appearing in all 82 games to extend his NBA-best consecutive games streak to 556.
But the Knicks used Bridges differently. They regularly asked the lanky forward to defend the point of attack. He averaged 1.4 fewer shot attempts per game compared to last season. He finished fourth on the Knicks in scoring behind Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby.
Bridges was often the subject of scrutiny, with critics pointing to the lofty price the Knicks paid to get him.
“It’s all about the process and the journey of it all,” Brunson said. “Just making sure we’re going through things together.”
Bridges is living up to the Knicks’ vision this postseason.
He scored 25 points, including a game-tying tip-in late in the fourth quarter, in the Knicks’ series-clinching Game 6 win over the Detroit Pistons in the first round.
Then in the Knicks’ 108-105 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1, Bridges made a clutch 3-pointer and recorded two key steals in overtime — including one against Jaylen Brown that ended the game.
“It’s a team game, man,” Bridges said after Game 1. “That’s all it is. We don’t care who takes the credit as long as we win.”
CAPTAIN’S COMMS
For Brunson, communication is key.
Not only on the court, but with Knicks decision-makers such as head coach Tom Thibodeau, team president Leon Rose and owner James Dolan.
“I think we all have one goal,” Brunson said Wednesday. “I think we all have an understanding of what we want to accomplish, and I feel like we’re able to talk about stuff.”
The Knicks have won at least 47 games, finished no worse than the No. 5 seed in the East and advanced to the second round of the playoffs in each of Brunson’s three seasons with the team.
Last summer, the Knicks signed Brunson to a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension and named him the 36th captain — and first since 2019 — in team history.
“I’m not saying I’m in the room making decisions or helping make decisions, but when questions are asked of me, I give my opinion,” Brunson said. “I say what I feel is best for the team.”
KAT’S EYE
The Knicks’ acquisition of Towns last October marked a reunion between the All-Star center and Thibodeau, who was previously his head coach for parts of three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Towns can see a difference with Thibodeau now.
“For me, being with him before, I think that he was so caught up in the work that he wasn’t getting a chance to take a step back and appreciate where he’s at,” Towns said of Thibodeau’s time in Minnesota.
“We all grow, and time teaches us a lot. I’m happy to see him enjoying the moments he has coaching.”
