Forward Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks was not pleased with the team’s defensive play against the Detroit Pistons during Saturday’s 120-111 defeat. Aside from their defensive lapses, the Knicks had a short-handed group as they didn’t have one key player.
The Pistons took control of the game early on and didn’t give the Lmocls a chance to recover. While defensively, they had more blocks (New York with five; Detroit with zero) and steals (New York with 11; Detroit with seven), it wasn’t enough to get back into the game.
After the game, Bridges talked about their lack of defensive tenacity giving the Pistons the win.
“Not good, not good. I think we pick and choose when,” Bridges said. “And we ain’t that good to be able to just pick when we want to play defense, I don’t think any team is that good when they just pick whenever they want to play defense. I think it starts with me as well. We just gotta be more vocal and lead by example as well. It’s [on] all of us.”
When asked if he thinks their defensive errors can be fixed, the two-way forward said this:
“Yeah, for sure.”
Mikal Bridges was asked tonight where he thinks the Knicks are defensively: “Not good, not good. I think we pick and choose when. And we ain't that good to be able to just pick when we want to play defense.” More from Bridges: pic.twitter.com/wWputSogoP
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 8, 2024
Aside from their subpar defensive performance, the Knicks didn’t have All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT was listed as out against the Pistons due to a knee issue. Following the game, head coach Tom Thibodeau addressed their short-handed squad.
“When you’re shorthanded, your margin of error is a lot tighter. You’ve got to play with great intensity on every possession.” Thibs said. “And if you do that, you will have a good chance to win. You’re not gonna replace KAT individually, and Cam [Payne]. But collectively, we can. When you play great defense, rebound balls as a team.”
"When you're shorthanded, your margin of error is a lot tighter. You've got to play with great intensity on every possession."
Tom Thibodeau talks about the Knicks' defensive issues tonight: pic.twitter.com/iWGEQ0W57F
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 8, 2024
On Sunday, the New York Knicks will play against the Charlotte Hornets.
New York Knicks forward responds to his ejection
During the fourth quarter of the game, New York Knicks forward Josh Hart was ejected. According to Hart, he wasn’t saying anything to the referee but still got issued a technical foul. After the game, the forward spoke about what happened on the court.
“I got my tech for basically saying ‘Someone get in the game.’ I think I was 10-feet away from the ref going into the huddle, didn’t curse or speak disrespectfully to the ref,” Hart said postgame. “So, I got a tech that way. I asked him why after and he said ‘That’s not how we talk to each other.’ I said okay, and I left that there.”
"I just didn't understand how I got a tech in that moment in time and there wasn't one on the other side."
Josh Hart talks about his technical fouls tonight and why he didn't understand Cade Cunningham not getting a technical foul late in the game: pic.twitter.com/OQ0ekqF5qf
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 8, 2024
Hart was disappointed with how the game was officiated as he revealed there are inconsistencies with the referees.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
