How MIKAL BRIDGES Transformed Into BABY DURANT

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This is Mikal Bridges in a Suns jersey late in a tight game, standing in the corner away from the action waiting for the kick-out. And this is Bridges in his 3rd game as a Brooklyn Net, one on one against Jimmy Butler, he does the shake and bake on him and hits the and-one. He scored 45 in this game which is his career high, and since joining the Nets, Mikal had 11 games with more than 30 points, compared to just 2 in 4 and a half years with the Suns.
What Happened to Mikal Bridges, and how he’s transforming into a real star player for the Nets. Let’s break it down.
While in Phoenix, Mikal Bridges was known for his defense, often guarding the best opposing player, putting in the hard work and giving a 100% effort every night. In the clutch, he stays with Luka through the screens and puts a hand in his face which results in a bad miss. Here, he’s posted up against PG, gets bumped by the big man but somehow was able to block the shot from behind. On offense, he would get his points by out-running his defender in transition, like in this situation where he’s in line with Josh Hart but manages to run around him before getting the pass and finishes with the dunk. He’s always on time making the right cut to the rim in the half court offense. Booker gets double-teamed so he passes to Ayton down low, and before he even catches it, Mikal is already sprinting towards the basket, the pass and the lefty dunk. He’s a great finisher inside making 68.2% of his shots in the restricted area.
But he’s mostly known for his ability to get open 3 point shots out of the attention focused on CP3 and Devin Booker. Most of these are catch and shoot 3’s, however we saw flashes of him being able to create his own shot when needed, mainly in the absence of the all-stars or due to the shot clock expiring. Bridges averaged 17.2 PPG / 4.3 RPG / 3.6 APG in 56 games for the Suns this season before being traded to the Nets as a part of the package for KD. He was also considered as one of the more efficient guys in the league, shooting a decent 46.3% from the field, 38.7% from long range and 89.7% on free throws.
Ever since joining the Nets, he blossomed, and got better in almost every statistical category. In his very first appearance against Philly, we saw what Mikal is capable of with the ball in his hands.
Here, he gets the ball on the left wing, Claxton comes up for the screen and the handoff, Bridges gets it back and makes the running jumper over Joel Embiid. Later, they run the same play and again, Mikal gets to his comfortable mid-range spot and hits the shot over Joel.
In his career night against Miami, his offensive arsenal was on full display as we see him sizing up Strus for the pull-up jay.
In the 3rd, he gets the ball in the corner, freezes the defender with the shot fake, goes inside, pauses as another defender flies by before laying it in.
Next we got the off ball screen by Claxton for Bridges to curl around him either for the jump shot or for the penetration to the rim. He gets the ball with Butler on his back, turns on the jets and lays in the finger roll. And finally against Robinson, dances, blows by him, stops on a dime and swishes it.
Against the Magic a month later, although in a losing effort, Mikal dropped 44 points on 66.7% shooting from downtown.
And, just 5 days later in Brooklyn he burned the Hawks with yet another 40+ points masterpiece.
Look at his confidence, he stares down his opponent, dribbles past him, stops, turns and drains the fadeaway.
The main role in Brooklyn after Durant and Irving’s departures was open for grabs, and Mikal emerged as the leader.
Heis usage rate skyrocketed to 29% compared to the 19% of the time he had the ball in Phoenix. His production increased while keeping and improving his efficiency.
Having the ball in his hands a lot more, he’s fully embracing it and he is posting a phenomenal 27.1 PPG / 4.7 RPG / 2.7 APG on 47.5% FG / 37.6% 3PT/ 89.4% FT shooting splits. That’s impressive. Bridges is averaging more points than KD and Kyrie ever since the trades, are you kidding me!? Ok, Durant appeared in only 8 games, but c’mon, we gotta give this man his credit. I dedicated a whole video about his playing style on both ends of the floor about a year and a half ago in which I ask the question, does Mikal Bridges have another gear to unlock. And boy, his blistering hot performances in the Nets uniform for sure has answered my doubts. He’s getting more spotlight from the media as well, as he was announced the Eastern Player of the week and flew in the conversation for the Most Improved Player of the year. Given the keys to the franchise, Bridges kept the Nets above the play-in zone. With the 6th seed they’ve set themselves a date with the 76ers.