The Brooklyn Nets gave the Phoenix Suns a major boost to their title hopes.
“You get TJ [Warren] and [Kevin Durant],” Mikal Bridges told JJ Redick on ‘The Old Man and The Three’ on February 24. “I feel like KD don’t affect [the game] the defensive end as much as me. But he can still guard and we’re all team defense anyway so. You got coach [Monty Williams] that’s going to make everything great and…they all play for each other. But then also you get 30 [points] a game. So now I’m looking at them like, ‘I like it’…The new owner came in and what they’re trying to do, it makes the most sense. I understand they’re trying to win now.”
Brooklyn sent Durant to the Phoenix Suns for a package including Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks, and one pick swap. They immediately rerouted Crowder to the Milwaukee Bucks.
To Bridges’ point, the Suns went from having fairly long odds at winning the NBA title this season to checking in behind only the Boston Celtics in the immediate aftermath of the trade.
“It’s crazy but the only good thing about it is just I’m happy he said something in the summer,” Bridges said after detailing how much of his life had to be adjusted. “If he never said anything I probably never thought me going to Brooklyn would be a thing. Ever. I just wouldn’t think that. I just don’t. But when KD said that…I’m like well I know I’m gonna be involved.”
Bridges did say that he believes the Suns could have still won without the trade.
He’s also made a tremendous impact on the Nets in his short time winning over head coach Jacque Vaughn.
“Mikal Bridges is open-minded but at the same time has a consciousness about him that he can communicate with his teammates,” Vaughn said via the team’s YouTube channel after defeating the Miami Heat on February 15. “Extremely pleased that he’s a part of our future going forward.”
The Nets’ Future Is Now
If it was not already apparent that the Nets would miss Kevin Durant and/or Kyrie Irving, they got a reminder of it in their 131-87 loss to the 11th-seeded Chicago Bulls on February 24. The 87 points are the fewest by a Bulls’ opponent all season while the loss brings the Nets’ record since the last time either of their former dynamic duo suited up for them to 3-5.
They are 7-12 since Durant got injured against the Heat on January 8.
This isn’t to suggest they have not found some success with this new group, and the kind of success that Vaughn feels very confident about too.
“I think we can be a Top 10 defensive team if we take that step of turning teams over; so a great challenge for us that way,” Vaughn told reporters in a teleconference on February 22, per Chris Milholen of Inside The Nets. “And that’s going to come from some non-traditional ways. You know me, I’m very curious and I don’t mind taking risks.”
So far, those risks have come with a starting five of Bridges and Johnson alongside fellow trade deadline acquisitions Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith – both of whom came over from the Dallas Mavericks in the trade for Irving – and holdover Nic Claxton.
The result is a defense that ranks in the 100th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass.
That is even after the loss to Chicago put a dent in their offensive rating resulting in their net rating going from the 100th percentile as well down to the 71st.
“If we keep getting better, learning and growing together, I feel like we’ll be a scary team that teams don’t want to play against,” Bridges told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype after the game. “We’re going to have five guys at all that’s going to be out there defending and playing for one another.”
The Nets Need More Offense
Bridges’ optimism is not misguided but the Nets still need help generating offense. They have averaged 109.5 points per game since Irving’s last game, down from 117.8 PPG over their previous eight outings and 124.1 PPG during their 12-game winning streak.
The 26-year-old Bridges is averaging 22 PPG in his four appearances since the trade which would be a career-high by a wide margin if accomplished over a full season.
He has had offensive explosions including dropping 45 points in that win over the Heat. But there was a seven-point outing in the loss to the New York Knicks and he scored just 13 points in the loss to the Bulls. His shot attempts in the past four games have varied wildly with 18, eight, 24, and most recently 10 field goal attempts.
Brooklyn has four other players averaging double-figures since the trade.
Dinwiddie and Johnson both are, though Dinwiddie has had back-to-back games with fewer than 20 points. Joe Harris and Cam Thomas are each doing so off the bench. Seth Curry is also right behind them at 9.5 points so, on average, the numbers are there — they just need more.
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Nets’ Mikal Bridges Gets Candid About Suns After Kevin Durant Trade