During the two-game absence of Jalen Brunson over the past week, the New York Knicks were greeted with an exciting new element of Mikal Bridges' on-court repertoire.
Though perhaps best known as an elite 3&D contributor, without Captain Clutch in the picture, the wing essentially stepped up and took over his role as the de facto playmaker for the team, posting impressive averages of 19.0 points, 4.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and a whopping 3.0 blocks along the way.
To some, this surge was believed to be a mere short-term result of Brunson being out and a need for someone else on the roster to take on head honcho duties, which, even if true, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.