Mikal Bridges Ready for New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau

The New York Knicks have consistently had one of the stingiest defenses in the NBA under head coach Tom Thibodeau. They will be even tougher to score against now that he has another elite two-way player in Mikal Bridges.

The New York Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster trade this offseason. It was costly, as they are sending five first-round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn to get the deal done.

Some people will scoff at that price, but Mikal Bridges is a perfect fit for this team. Chemistry will be through the roof as he is another Nova Knick, playing collegiately with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo at Villanova.

There are some people excited to see Mikal Bridges playing for Tom Thibodeau. Not because of how he fits, but because of the reputation each has garnered in the NBA.

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Bridges is the modern-day Ironman, playing in all 474 games of his career to this point. He has not missed a game since high school. Thibodeau has a reputation for running players ragged and wearing them down.

Alas, it isn’t something that Mikal Bridges is worried about. He is ready for whatever Tom Thibodeau needs from him, sharing an example of his head coach with the Phoenix Suns, Monty Williams, pushing him to the edge.

“Thibs a great coach. Who doesn’t wanna play all the time?…I fit…Y’all must not have been watching me in Phoenix; Coach Monty…the man played me 50-something minutes against De’Aaron Fox…& I was sick as a bat, couldn’t breathe…” Bridges said during his introductory press conference with the New York Knicks.

Health was an issue for the New York Knicks at points last season. Their run in the 2024 NBA Postseason came to a screeching halt as they lost half of their rotation players to injury.

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Virtually all of those injuries cannot be blamed on Tom Thibodeau playing his guys heavy minutes. In fact, some of them thing the large workload in the regular season helped prepare them for the rigors of the playoffs.

With Mikal Bridges now in the fold, the New York Knicks are thinking championship. If they can remain healthy, they present the biggest obstacle to the Boston Celtics defending their crown.

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