Hit the jump for a Game 1 edition of FOUR things, starring Mikal Bridges, Terrence Shannon Jr., Ausar Thompson, and Chet Holmgren.
Mikal Bridges, on the ball
It seems that the Knicks have rediscovered Mikal Bridges over the last couple of games. He was fantastic on both sides of the ball in Game 1 against Philadelphia, but the most intriguing thing to me was that the Knicks actually used him as a ball-handler for a change.
In the Hawks series, Bridges ran a grand total of 21 pick and rolls in four games, per tracking data. In Game 1 against Philly alone, he ran seven of them. And the Knicks scored or got fouled directly out of five of them, with Bridges mostly targeting Tyrese Maxey and taking advantage of either him, the big man defending the screener, or the low man help, depending on how the Sixers reacted to the screening action.
Making Maxey work defensively is going to be an important part of this series, because he has to be the engine of the Sixers' offense on the other end in order for Philly to have a chance. Bridges has a huge role to play in both tiring him out on this side of the ball and, obviously, chasing him around on the other.
Terrence Shannon Jr., no fear
Shannon himself said it after Game 1, he does not care if Victor Wembanyama blocks him almost every time, because he can't block him literally every time. He had that mentality in Game 1, both when Wemby was on the court and especially when he was off the court and Shannon had the opportunity to attack Luke Kornet downhill instead.
Shannon had 11 total drives against the Spurs in Game 1, his third-most of the entire season. Three of his five baskets came on these hard, straight-line drives to the rim, with two going up against Kornet and one with Wemby actually as the man guarding him with the ball, thanks to a great screen by Julius Randle.
He also drew Stephon Castle's sixth foul thanks to a great screen by Anthony Edwards. And his relative success getting to the basket no doubt played a role in freeing up the pass he threw to Rudy Gobert under the rim for a foul.
Ausar Thompson, all around
What a fantastic two-way performance it was from Thompson, who made his presence known in all kinds of ways. Look at the different ways he got his baskets, for example:
That's Thompson rejecting a pick and roll and blowing past Evan Mobley, then breaking off a lefty reverse layup. That's Thompson going right through Thomas Bryant off the bounce and dropping in a floater over the top. And that's Thompson doing his usual routine roaming the baseline, shorting a Daniss Jenkins pick and roll for a basket from the dunker spot.
Then there was his passing.
He gets out on the break, collapses the defense, and finds Isaiah Stewart under the rim on a second-reaction play. He again cuts along the baseline, this time on a Cade Cunningham pick and roll, and finds Stewart again after spinning into the middle of the paint. And he finds Tobias Harris behind him on the perimeter after cutting through the lane on a Jenkins drive. All of these are just really heady plays.
Then there was his back-court steal:
He gave the ball right back on that play because he tried to save it while going out of bounds, but it was still cool as hell! And then there was his preposterous chase-down block:
Look how fast this guy is! Keon Ellis is a step past the three-point line when he gets the ball, and Thompson is still below the free-throw line. And he gets back for the block anyway. Incredible.
And I didn't even include any of his straight up on-ball defense here. The guy was marvelous throughout the evening, helping hold Donovan Mitchell to 23 points on 20 true shot attempts (19 field goals and two free throws), along with just two assists and three turnovers. Winning player, even if he can't shoot.
Chet Holmgren, finding space
The Lakers decided that their entire goal against the Thunder's offense was to shut off Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's water, and they did it by holding him to a season-low 18 points, six assists, and a season-high seven turnovers.
But the consequences of that were that everyone else found space to do their thing. Nobody more so than Holmgren, who had 24 points on some incredibly easy baskets.
All he really had to do was roam around on the edges of the frame and he found himself open repeatedly. And that was the case whether SGA was on the court or not.
