Mikal Bridges finished Sunday’s loss with just six points in 35:02 on the floor, sporting the game’s worst plus-minus (-23) in the defeat. He has just 10 points in 89:57 on the floor this season, shooting 5-of-23 (21.7%) from the field, including 0-of-10 from three.

In fact, Bridges has more fouls (seven) than field goals made (five) this season. He has gone 14 straight quarters without making a jump shot, dating back to the second quarter of the team’s final preseason game vs. Toronto on October 15.

It’s Bridges’ fewest points in a three-game single-season span since December 2019 during his second NBA season. He’s the first player to play at least 89 minutes through his first three games of a season to score 10 or fewer points since Reggie Evans had eight points across 94 minutes to begin the 2010-11 season.

He’s either nursing an injury or he’s just floating by, trying to keep extending his consecutive games played streak, which reached 641 games (to begin his career) on Sunday.

In the Knicks’ third loss (in three games) of the season on Sunday, they had a 94.6 offensive rating and 127.4 defensive rating across 74 possessions with Bridges on the floor. With him off the floor, they had a 128 ORTG, 72 DRTG, and +56 NETRTG across their other 25 possessions.

He looked like a ghost, as he has all season, on the offensive side, but what’s been more alarming is the lack of defensive push he’s provided during this rough offensive stretch. His main defensive matchups on the night were Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. There was also a play following Suggs' injury coming on an out-of-bounds play where Franz Wagner, who was scoring easily in the fourth quarter, easily got past Bridges on a backdoor cut.

According to Spencer Pearlman’s early tracking on The Court Lab, Magic offensive players were 5-of-7 (71.4%) from the field when defended by Bridges on the night, as well as 5-of-6 (83.3%) when he was the second closest defender. While Suggs only scored four points on eight shots for the night, Black was outstanding on both ends, scoring 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting (5-of-7 from three), while recording two steals.

The fact that Bridges played 35 minutes on Sunday is questionable from Mike Brown, given the fact he only played him for just under 22 minutes in their loss on Friday in Boston when he went scoreless (0-of-8) from the field.

This has been a constant theme for the Knicks and Bridges this season. In 183 possessions with him on the floor this season, they’ve looked lost to the tune of an 89.6 ORTG, 115.7 DRTG, and -26.1 NETRTG. They have been very elite without him out there, posting a 129.4 ORTG, 102.8 DRTG, and +26.6 NETRTG in 109 possessions with him on the bench.

The Knicks traded five first round picks for Bridges, but they’ve already won a championship with him as a crucial part of that title run, so no matter what, it’s still worth it. However, a title doesn’t guarantee that you maintain employment at Madison Square Garden.

He’s in the first year of a four-year, $150 million extension ($41.5 million player option for the 2029-30 season), but despite the extension just beginning this season, he’s already eligible to be traded. We’ve seen Bridges go through stretches like this before, but it’s never felt like he’s been this passive on both ends. It’s not too early to start talking about other options.

Could the Knicks decide to find an exit plan involving Mikal Bridges? That seems doubtful with just three games of bad play to start the season. However, Mike Brown has never been shy about taking away minutes from Bridges; he has taken him out of games, and it’s worked in the past, like in the team’s Game 1 comeback win over the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals and in the team’s Game 4 comeback win over the Spurs in the Finals.

In general, the Knicks have been in desperate need of offensive options, and Bridges has been the furthest thing from being any sort of offensive option through three games. It doesn’t help that other options such as Landry Shamet and Deuce McBride haven’t found a consistent footing offensively yet, though they’ve both showed up defensively.