Peter Okereke
Mikal Bridges and the New York Knicks still have nearly a full week remaining until they kick off the NBA Finals next week against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs.
The Knicks haven’t lost a basketball game in over a month, having swept the last two rounds of the playoffs to make it to the Finals for the first time in almost three decades. But with so much time off, some fans might be concerned that the Knicks could have some rust to shake off in Game 1.
However, New York forward Mikal Bridges has recently explained why that layoff has little to do with the team’s mindset when they return to action on the court again.
“Being in a hostile environment, that should get the mindset right off the jump,” said Bridges, per SNY Knicks on X.
Indeed, the New York Knicks will be starting out the Finals on the road, regardless of whether it’s the Spurs or OKC Thunder that they end up facing off against.
The Knicks had a similar long wait between the second round and conference finals, having swept the Sixers aside before taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the early stages of Game 1 of the conference finals though, the Knicks did appear to show some rust, at one point falling behind by 22 points.
But they ultimately rallied to win that game in epic fashion and have never looked back since, defeating the Cavs easily the next three times in order to earn another long rest and punch their ticket to the Finals.
