After missing the playoffs for the first time in four years, Mikal Bridges said he has “the itch” to get on the court with his new “psycho” teammates.
“Long offseason. I got the itch right now,” Bridges, who hasn’t played since mid-April, said Saturday night to a hoard of Knicks fans at an event in Central Park. “I’m ready right now. I’m active. It’s been too long.”
Josh Hart, a host of the event, continued his long-running trolling of the Nets, asking Bridges how it feels to “be in greener pastures” after being traded to the Knicks.
Bridges responded by telling the crowd — many of whom were eager to boo at every mention of Brooklyn — that the Knicks got a better player because of his stint in the outer borough.
“Y’all should appreciate Brooklyn because it made me better,” he said, adding later, “F–k, my game grew there.”
Bridges was the first guest of “Roommates Show Block Party,” essentially a live episode in Central Park of the podcast hosted by Hart and Jalen Brunson.
The three-hour event became a celebration and acknowledgement of the renewed hope surrounding the Knicks.
Toward the end of the evening, guest Jon Stewart, legend of ‘The Daily Show,’ passingly mentioned Knicks owner James Dolan.
It prompted boos from the crowd and an emphatic response from Hart, who finished a bottle of wine during the show.
“Hell nah. Hell nah,” Hart, supporting Dolan, told the fans. “We back baby, we good.”
Stewart echoed that sentiment.
“What do they always add in front of Knick fans? Long suffering,” Stewart said. “Suffering no more, my friends. We are filled with admiration.”
Although the Knicks still haven’t advanced to the conference finals in 24 years, they won 50 games last year and expectations haven’t been higher since Patrick Ewing was in uniform.
Anything short of a conference final next season would be deemed a failure.
Saturday was further proof of the buzz.
The live podcast packed Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, with thousands of mostly young fans — the largest portions in their 20s or 30s — packing the field despite rain clouds hovering.
Ponchos and Brunson jerseys dominated the audience.
The event — which cost between $65 to $300 for admission — was highlighted by the appearance of Stewart, who joked about, among other things, Tom Thibodeau’s fitness level.
“It just seems like his zipper is doing a lot of work,” Stewart said.
“Training camp is going to be hell because of this part of the interview right here,” Brunson responded.
The other guests were Stephon Marbury, JB Smoove of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and Bridges, who is reuniting with his Villanova crew and the players he affectionately called “psychos.”
“I’m pairing up with a lot of psychos and I’m happy to be here,” he said.
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