Getty Mikal Bridges #1 of the Brooklyn Nets.
If Brooklyn Nets rising star Mikal Bridges keeps this up in the playoffs, he’ll earn a new label.
“I’m not going to lie to you, reputation does matter [in the postseason],” Spencer Dinwiddie said via the Nets’ official YouTube channel on April 7 citing his previous comments on the Nets’ lack of star power. “But at the same time, reputations are typically made in the playoffs, right? So if Mikal keeps playing at the level he is, he’ll be considered a star at the end of this thing, especially if we can advance or do anything special.”
Bridges had 22 points with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the Nets’ win over the Orlando Magic on April 7.
In 26 appearances for the Nets, the 26-year-old swingman has failed to score at least 20 points just four times, and one of those times he finished with 18 points. He is 13th in the NBA in scoring since the trade deadline with 27.2 points per game adding 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.0 steals to boot.
“I think obviously people are adjusting to the fact he’s a big-time scorer and a big-time piece for our offense,” Dinwiddie said, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “They’re definitely paying more attention to him and he’s just continuing to produce.
Over the last nine games, he is fifth in the NBA averaging 30.4 points as the Nets have gone 6-3 during that span.
That outburst even as teams have keyed on him makes Dinwiddie’s assertion more believable.
“I think we got a guy that has the capability to play at that level,” Dinwiddie said. “And then you’ve got one damn good-looking point guard too.”
Since the trade deadline:
— Dinwiddie has more APG than Luka
— Bridges has more PPG than Durant
To Dinwiddie’s credit, he has also flipped a switch going from a sparkplug scorer to an elite-level playmaker. He is second in the league in assists over the last 15 games behind only Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton who has played just three games in that span.
Mikal Bridges Surprising Himself
Bridges has spoken highly of his time and teammates with the Phoenix Suns, pointing to the latter as an example of how he should operate as the primary option on numerous occasions.
But even he didn’t see this couldn’t have imagined such a breakout.
“Just be the best you can be, and one day eventually be an All-Star,” Bridges said of what he thinks is a common goal among players via the Nets’ YouTube channel. “I just try to go out there and hoop – make the right play, make shots, defend, and try to win a game.”
In the early stages of his prime and apparently just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of, Bridges has gone from being just the centerpiece of the Kevin Durant to potentially being the Nets’ next franchise cornerstone.
Nets Rotations, Playoff Experience Could Be Key
Brooklyn will already have a tall task taking on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers – against whom they will close out the regular season on April 9 – as it is since they are 0-3 in their previous showdowns this season.
Lacking the aforementioned star power or name recognition, head coach Jacque Vaughn will have to be judicious in how he splits the minutes between Bridges and Dinwiddie.
My Nets rotation for the playoffs would be:
Dinwiddie, Bridges, Johnson, DFS, Claxton, O’Neale, Sumner/Curry, Yuta.
Can alternate the backup guard based on what the matchup shows. Watanabe is a 9th man, shouldn’t usually play.
The Nets’ net rating is minus-11.3 without either Bridges or Dinwiddie on the floor, per Cleaning The Glass. With them it is plus-3.7, taking them from the eighth percentile to the 75th percentile of the NBA. Both players have ample playoff experience as does most of Brooklyn’s hodgepodge group perhaps giving them more of a chance than expected.