As Tobias Harris The Detroit Pistons found the left wing from the sixth game of the left wing in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and the Detroit Pistons saw Mikal Bridges sprint towards him in New York Knicks Wing, prompting Harris to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.
But Harris wants to use dunks to limit property and stay with the basket. New York's OG Anunoby arrives there first and will try to put out. Knicks defender Josh Hart recovered the ball and immediately threw a hit pass to the bridge as he transitioned.
Bridges had two defenders beat on the open floor - Cade Cunningham was in front and Malik Beasley closed from the left - knocking two dribbles onto the Little Caesar Arena hardwood and then lifting his left hand to slam Cunningham's arm.
"That's men's jam!" Play announcer Ian Eagle shouted as the bridge finished the match. For good measures, Bridge also yelled and slammed the air before celebrating the game.
The full sequence – the end of the bridge, Anunobi’s neighborhood, then the bridge is again for him to thunder dunk – showcases the Knicks’ vision for both sides: guarding everyone and using as floor spacing, and they punish the opponent when defenders are crowded with guard Jalen Brunson.
Added the 28-year-old bridge and 27-year-old Anunoby, which are expensive and risky. Last July, New York surrendered five first-round draft picks to a rare OST town deal with the Brooklyn Nets to land the bridge. Less than two weeks ago, the Knicks agreed to bring back Anunoby a five-year, $212 million free agent deal (the wealthiest in franchise history) after the Knicks agreed to trade RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors last season. Some experts criticized New York for its draft capital and salary cap spaces for the addition of two players who never became an All-Star team.
Now, New York has the biggest chance to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years. The Knicks had most of the success in this game, including the chance to end the defending champion Boston Celtics in Game 6 on Friday (8 ET) to versus the league’s elite scorer against the duo. But in Bridges, Arnold Biki and Knicks’ defenses were burned in Game 5 of the Celtics without Jason Tatum, New York might need more magic.
Very common Bridges is the league's modern Ironman who started his career with his locker joining huge ice packs.
He certainly needs them after the Knicks lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on December 11. The Bridge has just been screened 50 times, the player with the most NBA players in a game of the season.
Before Bridges joined the Knicks, he was runner-up at the best defensive player of 2022 and was almost always deployed to the opposing team’s best win scorer – superstars like Kevin Durant, Lebron James and Jayson Tatum.
But in Bridges’ first season with The Knicks, coach Tom Thibodeau became the Nicks’ attack point plug in an effort to save Brunson’s wear and tear, who has more players than any NBA player this season on offense.
By January, Bridges browsed on 25 screens per outing, more than any player in the league’s 13-year database.
The Knicks are also more challenging, also making Karl-Anthony Towns backstage after playing with Minnesota’s Elite Rim Protector Rudy Gobert. Therefore, the team tested New York's offseason increase in defense.
In most cases, the strategy works. By November, New York's defense was ranked 21st in the league. Even after meaningful improvements and a soft December schedule, the club is only ranked 15th - the ninth-ranked unit a season ago is quite large.
More and more pain also hurts the bridges on the floor offensive end. In 16 games between November 1 and December 1, he won six free throws in a month after the Nets averaged an average of nearly four games per game last season. This is very different from Anunoby, a seamless fit, when he came from Toronto in December 2023.
"It takes time," Brunson said earlier this week. "It's like there are rookies. People can get good early on, or people can develop and get better at other moments. You never know what that turning point is. ...
“I never really lost any faith because I’ve known him for so long.”
There are signs that Bridges has been developing a comfortable level – his 41-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs – he even heralded his clutch, ball haw’s tendency to win against the Celtics 1 and 2. Bridges recorded obstacles on the buzzer to win the Nets and Hawks, and in February he stopped center Nikola Vucevic from sending the game to overtime.
But Brunson's ankle injury also awakened the offense. This shift unlocks a new score from the duo, which could take New York back to its highest level if it ends at the right moment.
When Brunson goes A bad ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers will set him apart, but it is not clear who will make who succumb to the Knicks' offense.
Alternate point guard Miles McBride exited the roster due to injury. Shortly after this, Cameron Payne, the Third Spurs, suffered. Although town is a great center for playing, he usually needs someone to attack for him. The same is often true for Hart, who can provide defense but is better suited as a minor ball handler.
Meanwhile, Bridges and Anubi's roles have made it clear in the Knicks' Brunson-led offense: No one in the NBA has released the Corner 3s compared to Bridges and Anunoby's 219 and 216.
Bridges played on the club's offense, increasingly handling the ball and improving his midfield game - he finished shooting 50.7% of the season, ranked third in number shooters and improved his score from 17 points per night before Brunson injured the guard's 20.5 points. When Brunson took part in the fourth quarter respirator, it seemed that the Bridge had been strengthened in the scoring confidence in the late game.
Meanwhile, Anunoby has made a bigger leap, with efficiency gains of 16.5 points per game to nearly 23 points.
"Our style of play clearly highlights Jalen and Kate. I think sometimes we can introduce OG and Mikal," Hart said. "I know OG is always capable of knocking down shots - even last year, his midrange, ladder guard, something like that - but I feel like when Jalen fell down, he took it to another level.
“The NBA is such a situation because he has the ability to have huge scoring nights and sometimes his phone number is not called.
🔐3 steals
🚫2 blocks
🙌1 contact with the gameMikal Bridges is locked @nyknicks In Game 1 overtime! pic.twitter.com/28Y13HHCU0
-NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025
The defensive Thibodeau loves Bridges and Anunoby for what they take as defenders, especially during the intense playoffs of the New York wild clutch.
The Celtics led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown hit just 13% overall (3 to 23) in 14 minutes in this series, more than the basket’s turnovers. Boston relies more on three-pointers than any team in league history, and in these cases, one of 11 attempts from deep, a huge praise from the Knicks’ defensive wing duo.
Thibodo said of Bridges and Arnold Biki, “You’re asking men, especially in five games (the situation), to protect the paint and also cover up the three-point line. “With the versatility of playing 2, 3 and 4, it allows you to do more switching.” ”
There is an argument that the forward is the biggest leader in the Knicks' series against Boston. When each of them was doing well - like the second half of Game 6 in Detroit, or the fourth-game victory against Boston, they hit 19 points and 19 points in the 9-point range in the fourth quarter - incomparable incomparable.
On nights like Game 5, when the Knicks' defense allowed 22 3-pointers and Anunobi and the Bridge themselves to make 5-for-3 shots - which put an unsustainable burden on Brunson and the town. If New York can pop up enough money from its wings to eliminate Boston - and do so, becoming a favorite to win the East - all the Bridges and Anunobi's salary and salary are worth it for the Knicks, and almost no one wants to get that goal after stumbled through all the regular seasons of rivals.