Knicks Broadcaster Places Trust In Mikal Bridges

Mikal Bridges has the trust of Mike Breen as the New York Knicks embark on their Madison Square Garden slate.

Oct 22, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) shoots against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Mike Breen believes that the New York Knicks will get enough "bang!" for their buck when it comes to the Mikal Bridges acquisition.

As Breen gets to call his first Knicks game of the year on Friday night, when New York hosts the Indiana Pacers in its home opener (7:30 p.m. MSG/ESPN), he offered a vote of confidence to the embattled Bridges during a Thursday appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

"I'm going to trust Mikal Bridges with this," Breen said. "The guy has been such a consistent three-point shooter for his entire career, it's one of the strengths of his game. I'll admit, the form that he started with this year in the preseason did look awkward. It looked like there was more wasted motion than most shooters like to have in their shot. But, again, you get to trust him because he's been so good all of these years."

Dec 18, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; MSG announcer Mike Breen during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

All eyes are on Bridges as the Knicks (0-1) seek to recover from an opening night loss in Boston. One of the most glaring toilers was Bridges, who was 0-for-5 from the field while the defending champion Celtics built a large lead in the first half. Bridges recovered well enough to shoot 7-of-8 over the latter 24 minutes but little could be done to erase Boston's well-established lead.

The Knicks have invested a lot into Bridges, engaging in a rare, costly trade with the Brooklyn Nets to secure his services. Bridges has tried to vindicate that faith with an adjusted jump shot to recapture the elite shooting days he had at Villanova alongside fellow current Knicks Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. Even though they fall short of what he earned as a Wildcat, Bridges' shooting rates have been fairly consistent, as he has hit 37.5 percent of his triple tries since entering the league with the Phoenix Suns in 2018.

The change has yet to see any major dividends, as he was a mere 2-of-19 from three-point range in four preseason games prior to the Boston visit.

Oct 13, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

For his part, Breen is amused by Knicks fans' relative panic over the situation, hinting that the overreaction is part of the reason why they have gained a reputation for passion.

"That's one of the things I love about the Knick fans," Breen said. "It's that they care so much that, even after one game and a couple of preseason games, they want their team to play well so badly, they want their team to win so badly that they're getting crazed about something that's so early in the season. We've all learned to not overreact to anything after one game, but you can't tell that to a fan."

Breen is set to embark on his 20th consecutive season as the Knicks' primary play-by-play man on MSG Network, where he works alongside Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

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