Mikal Bridges isn’t attempting to be Kevin Durant. It’s not attainable. Durant is a certain hearth Hall of Famer who’s been averaging near 30 factors his total profession. Bridges highlighted the package deal the Nets obtained to ship Durant out West.
What he’s attempting to do, nevertheless, and what was on full show on a profession evening in Brooklyn’s 116-105 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday, is depart his personal imprint on a Nets workforce nonetheless hoping to make a playoff run.
“You traded a future Hall of Famer that averaged damn near 30 for his career. So you know, I’m just trying to continue to get better and get to the point where I could score a little bit more,” he stated postgame. “I think it’s simple sometimes. [Phoenix] team over there added a piece like KD and T.J, is big time. I think defensively I might play better what KD will lack on defense, but he brings another dimension for them to score the ball. Yeah, I’m confident in myself scoring the ball, but the man has been doing it for all these damn years and doing it really good, and efficient with it too.”
It seems to be, feels and even sounds completely different when Bridges has it going. The unfamiliar sounds of celebration echoed from the Nets’ locker room after the star ahead’s profession evening.
After a very poor capturing efficiency in Monday’s loss to the Knicks, Bridges responded by torching the Heat on Wednesday. He scored 45 factors to go along with eight rebounds and 5 assists and took management of the sport down the stretch within the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 45 within the last interval alone.
Bridges stated he knew he wanted to attain extra within the fourth quarter when the Heat stored the sport shut late.
”I simply got here in and I used to be simply feeling good and so they simply stored discovering me and simply had lots of belief in me,” he stated.
He has change into the brand new fan favourite within the beginning lineup at Barclays Center, drawing “Brooklyn Bridges” chants which have grown louder every sport he’s performed in his new dwelling.
“I love it. I love it a lot,” he stated of the brand new nickname. “It fits, simple, makes sense. So it’s really dope. I really enjoy it a lot.”
His explosive scoring evening is a welcome sight for a Nets workforce whose main concern coming into the All-Star break is producing offense — both as a byproduct of shifting the basketball or in isolation conditions.
If Bridges performs like this each evening, the Nets’ speedy rebuild would possibly flip faster than anticipated.
The Nets are now not in a position to lean closely on one-on-one scorers after buying and selling each Durant and Kyrie Irving out West, however at occasions on Wednesday, they have been in a position to lean on Bridges.
He labored within the mid-range, showcasing his stop-and-pop from the elbow all evening. He was environment friendly from downtown, changing on 4 of his six makes an attempt from deep. He created for his teammates, crashed the glass and took turns defending Miami’s greatest out there perimeter participant, Jimmy Butler, who mustered simply 13 factors on 4-of-11 capturing from the sector.
And he sealed the sport on a baseline reduce, the place Royce O’Neale discovered him for a two-handed dunk that served because the nail within the coffin.
“My teammates kept finding me. They felt I had it going and just kept getting me the ball and set screens and let me operate and coach just drawing stuff up too,” he stated. “They gave me the confidence to go out there and just be aggressive, but man, I want to do all that and win, too. I just feel like if you do all that and lose, it’s kind of like an empty stat to me. I’m just happy we got the W and everybody played well.”
Cam Johnson, who arrived in Brooklyn with Bridges within the Durant deal, scored 18 factors, and Cam Thomas added 19 off the bench. All 5 Miami Heat starters scored in double figures, led by 24 from Bam Adebayo and 21 from Gabe Vincent.
The Net protection held the Heat bench to only 17 factors.
The Nets now have a weeklong break the place a workforce with a number of new faces will try to construct chemistry coming into the second half of the season.
The chemistry seems to be so much higher when the Nets have a participant who can shoulder the offensive load. Bridges proved he can. If he can do it for an prolonged interval, the Nets could have the reply to a number of the woes which have prevented them from producing high quality offense.
“Mikal Bridges is open-minded but at the same time has a consciousness about him that he can communicate with his teammates,” head coach Jacque Vaughn stated postgame. “He has a pleasure about him on daily basis I see him within the health club. He works on his sport. So extraordinarily happy that he’s part of our future going ahead.
“If you want different guys to represent you as a franchise I’m quite sure when he goes to schools and does public appearances, when he’s in the locker room with this group, when he’s talking to his head coach after the walk through today, extremely impressive as a human being and 45 helps too as a basketball player.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com