Knicks rumors: Players defending Mikal Bridges' early struggles 'helped' chemistry | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumours

After a quiet start to the season, the New York Knicks hit their stride with nine straight wins to move within one game of the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

In the latest episode Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 36:15), ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted that one of the big things that “helped” the Knicks find their chemistry quickly was having players on the roster defend Mikal Bridges amid his early struggles:

“Players coming to (Mikal) Bridges' defense were pushing each other in the locker room. Now, it's not surprising that Josh Hart — who is one of Mikal Bridges' best friends — came to his defense. But it wasn't just Hart. A lot of players fought, because they fought five picks in the first round, that helped their chemistry, I'm told.”

Josh Hart was the most vocal champion of Bridges when he was going through some struggles to start this season.

There were 17 games from Oct. 28 to Nov. 29 when Bridges shot 29.8 percent from three-point range. This added credibility concerns from the preseason that his shooting form looked unusual.

Another problem during that month for Bridges was the defense. He's considered one of the best 3-D wings in the NBA, but the Knicks have been awful defensively when he's on the court compared to when he's off the court.

In 15 games since Dec. 1, Bridges is averaging 21.3 points per game on 43.1 percent three-point shooting. On Christmas Day, he had his best game of the season with 41 points on 17-of-25 shooting in the Knicks' 117-114 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Although patience is a virtue, it is not possessed by many in the sports world because things happen so quickly. There will always be an adjustment period for the Knicks coming into this season as they made two big offseason trades to acquire Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Bridges obviously had a connection with Hart and Jalen Brunson from their time together at Villanova, but the trio last played together in 2017. They've all evolved as players since then.

Now, more than two months into the regular season, the 'Nova Knicks have figured things out. They have won nine straight games and 19 of their last 23 after a 5-6 start.