Brown says Bridges could lose minutes but stay a starter

New York Knicks coach Mike Brown said Mikal Bridges could lose minutes as the forward struggles to score, but he is not ready to remove him from the starting lineup. Bridges scored two points in 17 minutes during Wednesday’s 115-107 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and did not play in the fourth quarter, as Brown turned to Landry Shamet and Miles McBride.

Brown said Shamet and McBride had been playing well on both ends of the court, making it difficult to find enough minutes for Bridges and, at times, Josh Hart. Their defensive work, he said, was part of the reason he needed to keep them on the floor.

Bridges had averaged 5.9 points through 11 games, according to one report, compared with a career average of 14.6. His 17 minutes against Cleveland came in below his season average of 24.4 minutes, while Shamet was averaging 25.9 minutes per game. Brown’s comments point to competition for playing time, though he said Bridges’ starting status was not changing for now.

“Mikal is a starter, so it’s not a question of that Mikal has a proven track record of playing at a pretty high level as a starter in this league,” Brown said, according to the reported postgame remarks. He added...