Getty Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets had their whole world turned upside down at the trade deadline. Since then, they’ve been forced to make do with a new roster, and it seems as though they’re in a good place moving forward. Brooklyn’s roster is full of fun young players, and while they may not be a title contender, they have a chance to make some noise moving forward.
On Tuesday night, however, the Nets lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, with the latter winning in convincing fashion. After the game, Josh Giddey name-dropped both Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie while discussing the Thunder’s defense against the Nets, as Brooklyn only managed to score 45 points in the second half.
“Yeah, we did a great job,” Giddey said via the Thunder’s official YouTube channel. “I think it started with Lu [Dort], [and] Dub [Jalen Williams] on Dinwiddie and Bridges. Made it tough for them, chasing them on screens all night. And then us other guys in help spots. Being able to rotate on the backside. I think, defensively, that was as good as I think as we’ve played in a while. We were locked in on that end, and you see what happens when we do it. It wasn’t 48 minutes, but for that 24-minute stretch, I think, defensively, that was, as I said, as good as we’ve played in a little while. So, it shows that when we’re locked in on that end, we can compete with a lot of teams, and defense like that, when you’re getting stops, guys get energy from it, and that translates to the offensive end. So yeah, defense was key tonight.”
Giddey didn’t shoot particularly well against the Nets, but he did put up some impressive numbers. He finished the game with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists on 7-of-19 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Cameron Johnson Discusses Nets Future
In other news, the Nets have to worry about the future of some of their players, starting this summer. Cameron Johnson’s contract is up at the end of the year, but when asked about his future, he left the question for another day.
“I’ll let the future take care of itself. I’m not going to sit here and think on it too hard or worry about it too much,” Johnson told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I’m really just living in the present, enjoying it. There’s so much I’ve got to think about getting acclimated to a new city. This time of the year is serious basketball and that’s enough for all of us, for any of us, to keep us plenty occupied.”
Nets Provide New Ben Simmons Update
Meanwhile, Ben Simmons is still injured and has yet to return to the court for the Nets. However, according to an update provided by head coach Jacque Vaughn via Lewis, he is back home with the team.
“Yeah, I think first of all I’ll just be pretty simple. He’s still managing his back and knee soreness,” Vaughn said on March 13. “He’s back home in Brooklyn. We’ll get a chance to kind of see where he’s at when we get back home after this trip.”