The Knicks spent years in constant search of a 3-and-D wing, and while the team made its ascent to the playoffs, having perimeter players with a combination of size and length — as well as three-point shooting — always seemed to be a weakness that needed to be addressed.
Now, through two trades over the past year, the Knicks have two of those ideal wings, in Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. The tandem is vital pieces to the team’s success.
Wings with size that are also competent on both ends of the floor are expensive in the NBA, and acquiring both Bridges and Anunoby came at a hefty price. New York signed Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million contract in July after acquiring him in the middle of last season. The Knicks also sent five first-round picks and a first-round pick swap to secure the talents of Bridges.
While it cost a significant amount in young players and draft capital, the additions of Bridges and Anunoby havae generally worked. Both wings have fit in an offense built around stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and the Knicks have excelled this season with a 29-16 record, best for third in the Eastern Conference.
Bridges and Anunoby have both been key contributors on both ends — Bridges is third on the team in scoring and Anunoby is fourth. On defense, the two players are usually drawing the toughest assignments.
The wing combo has been a key factor in New York’s rise in the East. In the 1,366 minutes Bridges and Anunoby have shared on the floor this season, the Knicks are outscoring teams by 7.13 points per 100 possessions, according to PBP Stats. However, in spite of the positive impact Bridges and Anunoby have on the Knicks’ roster, they do have some flaws to monitor.
Bridges has defended at the point of attack more than ever in his career. At times, he’s (understandably) struggled defending some perimeter stars, such as Trae Young or Cade Cunningham, in the pick and roll. This issue has played a part in New York’s rank of 15th in defensive efficiency.
Bridges has also experienced severe highs and lows on offense. There was the 41-point explosion on Christmas against the San Antonio Spurs and the strong 26-point outing against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. But he also went scoreless against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this month and had a quiet 10 points against the Nets in his return to Brooklyn on Tuesday.
Anunoby also had his own scoring bump early this season, averaging 19.1 points in his first 17 games. He’s hit an extended cold stretch, shooting just 29.3 percent from three in his last 28 games. Even more concerning, the forward is shooting only 33.9 percent on corner threes, a number that would be the second-lowest mark of his career. Before this season, Anunoby was a career 42.2 percent shooter on corner threes.
There’s still more work to be done. The Knicks’ bench has been an issue throughout the season. Bridges leads the league in minutes per game and Anunoby ranks in the top 10. Finding ways to give both wingers a bit more rest would be helpful, considering the responsibility they carry on the court.
New York has struggled to combat elite opponents that switch on defense or put smaller defenders on Towns. In many of those situations, teams are loading up on Brunson and daring Bridges and Anunoby to beat them off the dribble. It has led to uneven results.
It would behoove the Knicks to find alternative ways to occasionally take the ball out of Brunson’s hands and give defenses different looks. When the Knicks first acquired Bridges, it seemed like there was an opportunity for him to be a secondary playmaker, but he’s morphed into simply a play finisher.
Even when Brunson rests, New York runs its offense primarily through Towns. Bridges has run less pick-and-rolls and now plays more out of isolation than he did in Brooklyn, per NBA Stats.
During the playoffs, teams will be extra aggressive in bringing help to contain Brunson and Towns. As the Knicks get closer to the playoffs, finding ways to incorporate Bridges and Anunoby more as initiators, rather than finishers, could help ease some of the burden on their top-two scorers.
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