OG’s arrival was the dawn of a new defensive day at MSG. Mikal’s may signal the start of a long, dark night for opponents

July 6, 2024 – In the midst of Knicks fans hoping and praying team brass was discussing an extension with newest Knick and roster centerpiece OG Anunoby, Shams Charania broke bigger news than any OG contract murmurs: the Knicks acquired former Villanova Wildcat/Phoenix Sun/Brooklyn Net Mikal Bridges from their intra-city rivals for Bojan Bogdanović, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite, five unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and a future second-round pick. A massive haul, yes, but now’s not the time for worrying about the future. Not after Jalen Brunson’s catapult into superstardom and the roster around him, even while injury-depleted, proving a formidable match for any team. 

In an instant, Knicks fans went from worries over OG’s contract to thoughts of a championship in 2025. Bridges will prove a valuable addition with his multitude of elite additive skills, but the thing to excite Knicks fans the most may be how their defense can flourish with that duo flourishing under coach Tom Thibodeau. 

THE STATS

Already a solid defensive unit, the addition of Bridges not only gives the Knicks one of the better defensive teams in basketball, but arguably its best defensive pairing. Anunoby owns a 41.5% defensive field goal percentage, second among players who played 50 or more games (per NBA.com; all stats reference last season). He was also sixth in defensive estimated plus/minus (DEPM) with a +3.1, good for the 99th percentile. 

OG’s versatility as a defender is where he shines the most: among all non-centers, he was third in contested 2-point shots per game (4.9) and fourth with 6.9 total contested shots. With Bridges now providing help on the perimeter, OG can continue to focus on playing disrupter, flowing from offensive player to offensive player and forcing tough shots all over the floor. 

Mikal will provide a ton of stability on the perimeter, likely guarding opponents’ first or second options while OG roams the floor. Although Bridges’ defensive metrics haven’t flashed in recent years the way Anunoby’s have, I believe we will see them flash once again. With Brooklyn, Bridges was taking on most if not all of the primary creator duties for their offense, which takes a toll on one’s play on the defensive end. With Mikal freed from that burden, he should return to being the crème-de-la-crème defender that he was in Phoenix. 

Over his career, Bridges has never had a DEPM lower than the 75th percentile in any full season nor averaged less than a steal per game, all while holding opponents to 38.9% shooting from 15+ feet out. With two lockdown defenders on the perimeter, Mitchell Robinson’s eventual presence will shine even brighter in the paint as he’s shutting down the only escape route from our two defensive stars. The stats back-up OG and Mikal being nightmare fuel for opposing teams’ stars, but I believe we have to look past the numbers to see just how special the defense can be this year.

THE SCHEME

Anunoby and Bridges, already solidified as two of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, will only elevate each other’s and the rest of the roster’s strengths. 

Individually, OG and Mikal are two of the league’s best isolation defenders, using their long arms to disrupt ball-handlers and create difficult shots. Neither is a one-trick pony, however, as both have strengths outside of isolation defense. OG is exceptional at walling up against bigger stars, as we saw time and time again last year matching up with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokić. Keeping stars out of the paint will allow Bridges to flourish as a ball-hawk, using his 7-foot-1 wingspan to get into passing lanes with ease, making it difficult for opposing offenses to get into rhythm. One of the best lane defenders in the NBA, Bridges’ blend of quicks, length and persistence will make it extremely difficult for the one-star teams to find their outlets and secondary options. 

Taking a step back, the Knicks already had a varied and very underrated POA (point of attack) defense last year, from the hulking, lengthy OG to the stocky, pesky Josh Hart to bulldog Deuce McBride. Donte DiVincenzo has often taken on primary POA roles to begin games, feeling out opposing ball-handlers to take advantage of early-game lack of focus and create early-and-often transition opportunities off turnovers for New York. Now throw Bridges into the mix and that’s three, four, five different looks they can throw at primary ballhandlers every game, while only elevating those who are great disrupters off the ball, of which the Knicks have plenty in OG, Josh, Donte and Deuce. One of the greatest tools Thibs has at his disposal is this roster’s defensive versatility.

The Knicks are unique in having two elite defenders to guard each of the opposing team’s best offensive players. Gone are the days of the Big 3 superteams — dynamic duos across the league are shining offensively, from Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown and Embiid/Tyrese Maxey in the East to Anthony Edwards/Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James/Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving/Luka Dončić in the West. Being able to stick two top-10 defenders on each of an opposing team’s stars will make it a nightmare for them to get into any flow on offense. 

The Bridges trade allows Thibs to have no worries about possibly sticking Donte, Josh or Deuce – players he might think are too small – onto a star, and can now flip to shutting down the stars’ outlets with the remaining guys on the floor. With OG and Mikal clamping up on the perimeter and in the paint, players surrounding them can focus on traps, getting into passing lanes and cutting off pass windows. Against teams with a star big, we may see Anunoby draw that matchup like we’ve seen in the past; many teams with a star big as their Batman have a guard as their Robin (Jokić and Murray; Embiid and Maxey; Giannis and Damian Lillard), which provides the perfect opportunity for Mikal to make sure their water gets shut off. 

After four seasons, we know that Thibs likes to shut down the highest-floor and most efficient shots to take, i.e. shots in the paint. In games the Knicks face two stars, Anunoby and Bridges can clamp down and ideally stop them from getting a foot in the paint, leaving the ballhawks free to flourish. The rotation of McBride, DiVincenzo and Hart will be able to use their elite anticipatory skills to take away those drowning stars’ outlets, essentially playing the role of a top cornerback, CB1 – taking away cuts, getting around off-ball screens and blowing up dribble handoffs and screen actions. 

THE RESULTS?

Let’s pretend the Knicks have Julius and Jalen on the bench, so OG, Mikal, two of the aforementioned players above and one center on the floor. Whether that center is Mitch, Precious Achiuwa or Jericho Sims, their main goal with this type of lineup would be patrolling the baseline and guarding the pick-and-roll; with the recent news of Mitch being out until at least December, let’s pretend Precious is the 5. 

With OG and Mikal putting perimeter stars in Rikers and the two guards putting the clamps on the outlets, the easiest forms of offense for opposing teams is to catch one of the guards on an off-ball screen for a backdoor cut or OG or Mikal on a screen to free a roller. The five on defense in these lineups have two jobs: be loud and ready to help, calling out picks around the perimeter and into the corners and helping when necessary, plud covering the backside of every action involving the other teams’ stars. 

We may even be able to take it a step further, with Thibs hinting at 10-15 minutes per game with Julius at center even before knowing Mitch was lost for months, which would give the Knicks a defensive look we haven’t seen in a long time, one Thibs has never been able to deploy in his coaching career. Having Randle, Anunoby and Bridges on defense without a center has the potential to give offenses fits, allowing Thibs to have fun throwing multiple different looks at a ball-handler in a game, with Anunoby and Bridges having the capabilities to guard 1-5, Randle a formidable isolation defender in his own right and at least one of the remaining two spots on the floor being a plus-defender with matchup versatility. 

In this scenario with Julius at the five on offense, we would likely see OG controlling the middle of the floor on defense. If that is the case, the other Knicks on the floor can focus on their POA, off-ball and isolation duties while Anunoby cleans up any potential backdoor cuts, off-ball screens, lobs or short roll passes. We will see more unique styles of defense from opponent to opponent during the course of the season, but the Knicks have a unique blend of POA defenders, ballhawks and disruptors who’ll make even their base defensive scheme difficult to gameplan for. With an already elite defense anchored by the best defender in the NBA, Tom Thibodeau buying into more versatile lineups year after year and the addition of one of the most versatile players in the NBA in Mikal Bridges, only time will tell just how dominant defensively these Knicks can be.