Knicks’ Mikal Bridges benched down the stretch again

Amid considered one of his disappearing acts, Mikal Bridges was again benched in the fourth quarter.

The guard sat the last 9 ½ minutes of Thursday’s 126-11 Knicks defeat the Pistons at the Garden, with Landry Shamet getting the enjoying time and belief from coach Mike Brown.

“Landry had hit a couple shots. We needed to score,” Brown mentioned. “They’re each actually good defenders. And so I simply stayed with Landry. But it wasn’t something the place, ‘Oh, I’m going to sit down Mikal as a result of he is not doing this, or he is not doing that.’ “We were looking to score points and Landry was the only one to make a shot from behind the arc.”

Shamet scored 15 factors in 28 minutes Thursday.

Bridges, who was acquired for 5 first-round picks and lately signed a $150 million extensionscored simply eight factors in 25 minutes.

Bridges was additionally 0-for-3 from past the arc.

He was additionally benched in favor of Shamet down the stretch of victories this month over the Sixers and Lakers.

There has been extra tanking discourse than ever throughout the NBA.

Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned throughout the All-Star break that tanking has been “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory” and that he’s contemplating “every possible remedy” to fight it.

Brown weighed in on potential options earlier than the group’s recreation towards the Pistons on Thursday night time at Madison Square Garden.

“Definitely trying to make somebody fight for it at the end of the season,” the Knicks coach mentioned. “Whether you have a small tournament before the playoffs start or something like that to where it’s not just guaranteed that the team with the worst record gets the best odds. That may change it a little bit.”

Already, the Jazz and Pacers have been fined $500K and $100K, respectively, for sitting wholesome gamers in latest video games.

Brown’s Knicks actually aren’t in the tanking dialog, and his groups all through his tenure have by no means actually match that description.

But he acknowledges it has gotten out of hand.

“Adam’s a smart guy and he’s figured out a lot of really good things for this league,” Brown mentioned, “so I have a ton of faith in him that he will figure it out.”

OG Anunoby, with one much less toenail, made his Knicks return Thursday — scoring eight factors in 32 minutes.

He missed the Knicks’ previous 4 video games earlier than the All-Star break with proper toenail avulsion.

He mentioned that he needed to have his full toenail eliminated and that there was “a lot of pain” and that “it’s an open wound, like it’s just flesh and raw, bloody.”

Anunoby is generally tasked with guarding Cade Cunningham, whom the Knicks confronted Thursday.

Without Anunoby, the Knicks had been routed by the Pistons 118-80 in the first of these final 4 video games earlier than the break.

Agent Rich Kleiman took a dig at Knicks proprietor James Dolan on social media.

Madison Square Garden Sports introduced Wednesday that it is considering splitting the Knicks and Rangers into two, separately traded public entities.

Boardroom, which Kleiman co-founded with Kevin Durant, posted on Instagram a message that learn: “You may soon be able to own a piece of the Knicks and Rangers.”

Kleiman responded to that put up: “No thanks unless the owner was gone.”

Kleiman represents Durant, who notably spurned the Knicks for the Nets in free company in 2019.