This article was originally published on HoopHerald.com on May 17, 2023.
Scroll through his Twitter feed, and you’ll quickly find that Mikal Bridges is an unabashed member of the NBA online community. Like most of us who scan social media before, during and after the biggest games on the schedule, he’s even added made-up internet lingo to his vocabulary.
“I didn’t know that ’til this year I think, stocks. ‘What the hell? Well, [it] makes sense. I guess they don’t call it like bleals or something.’ I think I like stocks better,” Bridges told Hoop Herald on a phone call, snickering at the trendy stat that integrates steals and blocks.
One week ago, as a part of NBA Twitter and obviously, a player himself, Bridges fired off a string of tweets about the NBA All-Defensive Teams and who got snubbed. When asked why he’s so passionate about it, he pleaded that there should be an NBA All-Defensive Third Team as there is for All-NBA.
“You know, the highlight, the big thing is scoring, and that’s what kids love… A lot of kids that are watching are not gonna be these types of guys ’cause only a couple of teams have ’em. You’re more likely to be growing up maybe a role player and evolving from there, and defense should be a main thing that should be talked about,” Bridges argued.
“So I think they should also have three teams, and that kinda inspires kids to just know that, ‘Okay, I can make it to the league just not having to score 30 points a night.’ And I think to add another team, it’ll just help. But I’m not over here fighting for my life. I just think it could be [beneficial], thinking about how many players could’ve made the All-Defensive Team.”
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was the first name that came to mind in our conversation.
“The man just won Defensive Player of the Year and he plays defense. You know on that team they’re on in Boston… I just don’t understand,” said a confused Bridges, attempting to convey his thoughts on the selections. “His role grew a little bit, but it wasn’t crazy ’cause you still have guys like (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown. But you know with them winning he’s doing all that little stuff as well and guarding, so I don’t understand how he doesn’t make a team.
“I just think maybe it’s because they’re like, ‘Okay, we gave him the trophy and that’s okay. Now we can think of other guys.’ But that don’t make sense. You’ve gotta kinda keep it how it is. If he’s doing it every year and is consistent, I don’t know why he just doesn’t keep making ’em.”
Then, there are the guys he did post about like Herbert Jones, a rangy second-year New Orleans Pelicans wing who made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team last year. Bridges also couldn’t believe that Luguentz Dort, a lockdown Oklahoma City Thunder guard, didn’t make either of the All-Defense squads — and his reasoning checks out.
“That man is like glue. Man, he’s glue. He guards every night. Every single night. Do people just not watch OKC games and that might be it?” Bridges questioned. “But that don’t make sense. If Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) makes [All-NBA] First Team, you must be watching the games besides looking at numbers if you put a guy [on] First Team. So you’ve gotta be watching enough and Lu Dort is out there. I’d say the thing about him is it has to be a game-minimum type of issue, and I don’t think that was the case.”
What happened to Minnesota Timberwolves stopper Jaden McDaniels reminds Bridges of when he missed out on the All-Defensive Second Team in 2020-21. Mikal’s close friend Matisse Thybulle edged him out with his “ridiculous” defensive counting stats despite not starting for the Philadelphia 76ers at the time. (Averaging 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game off the bench in just 20 minutes per game, to be exact.) Meanwhile, Bridges debates that he should’ve made that Second Team because of his 33-minute workload as a starter on the 51-win Phoenix Suns, who ended up representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.
While McDaniels and the Wolves didn’t accomplish that in the postseason, Bridges saw a man with a 30-plus-minute responsibility drawing the toughest defensive assignments in each game and stepping up to the challenge. But Chicago Bulls irritant Alex Caruso, a friend who Bridges also commends for “guarding like a motherf— er,” got the nod on the First Team this year instead — similar to the previously mentioned Thybulle on the ‘20-21 Second Team.
“Caruso’s my boy. I love Caruso man. This is nothing with him. He guards for real. But I don’t get it when it comes to voting. Because if I’m McDaniels in that situation — and I’m friends with Caruso, so I like him a lot — it’s just like, I don’t understand,” Bridges explained. “How do you feel if you start and you guard the main guy the whole game — that’s your main matchup — how don’t you feel like you should be superior, especially if you guard as well as a guy that comes off the bench and doesn’t even start? That’s why it just feels goofy.”
As for his Brooklyn Nets teammate, Bridges understands Nicolas Claxton has a tough road to an All-Defensive Team with only two sports reserved for bigs. However, he’s rocking with his guy in this case, pointing to Clax having the most total “stocks” this past season with 254 (tied with Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., who won DPOY).
“I think there’s not enough teams. A lot of people guard out there,” Bridges said.
Might gotta add a 3rd team honestly lol
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) May 9, 2023
It’s interesting that Bridges had all of that to say about the All-Defensive Teams and didn’t utter a word about himself making one this year, particularly since he was on the First Team last season. Instead, the 26-year-old decided to self-criticize.
“For me personally, for switching teams and stuff, I think my defense wasn’t at an elite level like where it was last year, but my role grew even bigger and it was just different,” Bridges said.
When he was in Phoenix, Bridges took on a primary role here and there, sporadically filling the void for a sidelined Chris Paul or Devin Booker whenever the Suns needed him to. What the Nets have asked of him, however, is to do it every game. It’s something he expected when he first found out about the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade, the second franchise-shifting move that happened soon after Kyrie Irving was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks.
In 31 total games, Bridges made the Nets look smart for handing him the keys to the car. He averaged 25.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest. He took a career-high 18.7 field goals a night, posting a solid 59.8% True Shooting percentage. His usage skyrocketed to nearly 30%, which clears his previous high barely hovering around 19% prior. Compare the bottom two rows of this visual:
(Chart courtesy of Cleaning The Glass)
Bridges increased his per-game scoring average from 17.2 points to 26.1 points, and even set a new career high in a single game with 45 points against the Miami Heat in only his third game with the Nets. Following that up, for the first time since he’s been in the league, Bridges earned NBA Player of the Week honors on April 3 in a stretch where he produced to the tune of 33.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals in over 38 minutes per game.
Even with the accolades and offensive success, Bridges is still adjusting to being the primary option.
“Just the stamina. And I think just being in shape. I think that’s the biggest thing, just the whole stamina aspect, especially doing what I do on the other end defensively,” Bridges said. “I think towards the end, I kinda just was lacking to it and obviously, I wasn’t happy about that. And I know coming this year that I’ll be way better and more in shape to do both.
“You know, people don’t want to. Some people don’t. They only do it on one end. But that’s not the type of player I am and person I am. So just trying to be able to do it on both ends.”
Bridges’ expanded offensive arsenal included an array of weapons we’ve seen in flashes prior to the move. Flashes just turned into consistencies. All those years of being in the Suns’ environment with the best of the best rubbed off on him. Post-trade-deadline, Bridges led the NBA with 114 pull-up field goal makes — five shots ahead of his ex-teammate Booker.
“I’m just adding to the game. As far as things I liked, that was just a part of my game that I just wanted to evolve,” Bridges said. “And being around guys like CP and Book, you learn man. You just learn without even trying to learn, I guess. Every day you’re around ’em, you’re playing games and you’re practicing.
“I’m on the court with the guys and seeing what spots to get to, and I think naturally just watching, it just sticks with me. And so, it’s just, automatically, I learn it and then I just work on it. Just know how to get to spots just basically off them guys.”
Branching further out, Bridges was happy that Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn inserted him in pick-and-roll sets as the main ball-handler. (In Phoenix, he saw four fewer possessions in that play type even with successful results). To Vaughn and the team’s reward, Bridges excelled and averaged over a point per possession between both the season (1.00 PPP) and the playoffs (1.05 PPP), per NBA.com.
(Bridges’ pick-and-roll ball-handler splits, per NBA.com)
“React and read. If a guy’s too high up, finding the big or finding the low man. If he’s down in a drop, get to spots and stuff like that,” Bridges said. “So I’ve always enjoyed playing in pick-and-roll and wanting to play more just ’cause that’s how the NBA is. But I think just him putting me in spots made it dope.
“Everybody wants to score. As much as everybody takes a role, everybody takes a step back, everybody likes to score the ball. It makes them feel good, guys that work hard and stuff and go hard on both ends. And to actually have the ball in my hands to be that guy to help everybody else, it’s definitely something I like.”
As far as who he found the most natural chemistry with, Bridges said he and Spencer Dinwiddie established it well as the season went along. Who he wants to continue forging a rapport with more than anybody, however, is Claxton.
Bridges spoke of his friendship with Deandre Ayton on and off the floor as an example of where he’d like to get to with the budding Nets center.
“That’s one person I kinda just want to ball with, just playmaking-wise and rewarding dudes like him that just play so hard, especially on the defensive end,” Bridges shared. “And just having that connection with him and knowing that if I’m not getting to a shot and they’re playing 2-on-2 in the pick-and-roll, he knows I’m looking for him. And just finding that little baby rhythm to where I just throw it to the rim and he go get it and get up two points just to reward him. I think [with] Clax, it’s something that we’ve built on.
“I tried to tell him that in the season, like, I get upset missing him on lobs and stuff because I don’t have that chemistry with him, and he deserves it, man. He works so hard and he plays so hard on both ends. He deserves it.”
Unlike most of his Nets’ teammates, Cam Johnson has known Bridges his entire career. Mikal is thankful he had somebody to experience a trade with to make the transition smooth.
“Change is tough. Middle of the season, we were on the road. We were traded, so we didn’t have a chance to be at home and leave,” Bridges said. “But yeah, it was tough getting our stuff. Coming from Phoenix, me and Cam had nice big homes with a lot of space to be at a hotel and coming out here and living in a small apartment.
“But just having my people around the corner to help move stuff from place to place, I was grateful for that part and just having a great team who helped me . And we just really worried about basketball. So it was tough, but you could make it work. That made it easier just knowing that my twin was with me. However he feel, however I feel, it was just gonna be the next person probably feeling the same.”
A restricted-free-agent-to-be, Johnson is going to have the opportunity to hit the open market this offseason with plenty of suitors. Asked about whether or not he thinks Cam will be back, Bridges is optimistic and can’t wait until things are resolved.
“I do definitely want him back. I hope so man. I think so,” Bridges said. “It’s just hopefully the money’s right, and I know he wants to stay here. And we need him and he’s been hooping man. He’s been healthy. But I definitely want him here, man. Hopefully, they get the deal done. I know he has to think about it, but I just want that to be over with (laughs).”
Mikal Bridges on his “twin” Cam Johnson’s 9/13 shooting performance in a huge game for Brooklyn:
“He’s built for the moment… Once he gets in a rhythm, trust me I’ve been a witness of it for years, he don’t get out of them.” pic.twitter.com/sdtKNSZLU3
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 26, 2023
Speaking of the offseason, Bridges and the Nets understand they’ll have work to do. For Mikal, the sting has finally worn off from the first-round sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers. He couldn’t watch basketball for four days after the Game 4 final buzzer on April 22.
It’s also not lost on anybody that this Brooklyn bunch was cobbled together following the departure of Durant and Irving, and many of the team’s players hadn’t played much together. It was a roster full of wings who’d had condensed roles in the past and were being asked to do a lot more than what they were used to in a small window of time. By doing that and going in as the sixth seed in the East, it was one of the more unique happenings in basketball.
“We were excited. Our biggest thing was [to] try to not make the Play-In and go in and win the series. Obviously, it didn’t go like that, but I think just how we handled it… change is always tough. We just stuck together,” Bridges said. “We came out, we was losing a lot and we kinda just turned it around a little bit, made a little run to stay at six and it was great, man. We learned a lot, and just get ready to build for next year.”
Bridges likes the roster as constructed because all of the Nets’ wings can dribble, shoot and play-make, which allows for the proper spacing to attack. Having five capable, versatile guys on the floor at all times is a luxury.
With that said, as a team next year, Bridges wants Brooklyn’s defense to be the top priority as a unit. (The Nets had a 115.8 defensive rating from Feb. 11 and on, per Cleaning The Glass.)
“It doesn’t even have to be 1-on-1 defense. It’s just a lot of team defense and knowing, and it’s tough,” Bridges said. “Everybody came in and it was midseason. We didn’t have no preseason, nothing to really go over our defense. So I think just to be everybody on a string man, just everybody be on a string. We had lapses of it in the playoffs and things like that and the season, just how we were playing team defense. But if we get a good preseason and a foundation and everything where everybody’s there, I think it’ll be big time.”
Individually, Bridges is going to keep chopping away at sharpening his shot creation for others and his off-the-dribble skills.
“Every year, it’s just to try to get stronger,” Bridges said. “My body’s so crazy. I get strong in the summer and then the season comes. I run around so damn much that it tends to just fall off, which is so crazy. But just pretty much try to play-make and be more efficient and maybe a little more iso just to add the end-of-shot-clock, end-of-game type things, just need to get a bucket out of that. But pretty much just continue to get better at all aspects.”
(Bridges’ isolation-figure splits, courtesy of NBA.com)
Bridges really can’t get much more durable, considering he is only the third player in NBA history to lead the league in minutes played and games played in back-to-back seasons; Wilt Chamberlain and Dolph Schayes are the only others.
Bridges appreciates how the area and the Nets have valued him so much already. Whatever the negative perception has been on the outside hasn’t been his experience, specifically with the team’s ownership and front office.
“Joe Tsai’s a nice guy. His family’s sweet. I love his wife [Clara Wu Tsai]. His kids are really cool. They’re great people, man. They love the city of Brooklyn and they just want to do whatever it takes for the fans. They’re just great. They welcomed me with open arms and it’s been literally ever since,” Bridges said.
“Sean Marks is a really good dude. I like ’em a lot. I don’t know, you hear the whole thing about what’s going on in Brooklyn and how people don’t like this and that. But I’m just like, these people are great. They’re great people.”
A people person in his own right, Bridges will go out on walks and see families out in the park with their dogs and kids. With the weather getting nicer in mid-May, he’ll be out and about. (If you’ve been on TikTok, you saw him making friends at the OCKY WAY.)
So far, so good for Bridges, who plans on reciprocating the love he’s received from Brooklyn by spearheading more victories and success in the future.
“It’s cool. I like the city a lot,” Bridges said.
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