Inside The Nets

Mikal Bridges feels the team needs to start their games better

Bridges is known as the Nets’ leader and he has seen a specific problem the Nets have to address.

Marin Gabric

© D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
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The Brooklyn Nets have performed well in the 2023/24 season so far but there have been some issues with how they start their games. This has become a problem for the team as evidenced by their slow starts against the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets.

Despite opportunities for victory, the Nets faced hurdles with consistently poor starts, creating deficits that proved insurmountable—an observation echoed by key players, notably star and leader Mikal Bridges.

“We just gotta start the game off good. That’s pretty much it. We’ve fought being down so we could take away always fighting and competing to the end but we just need to start off the game better,” Mikal said in his post-game interview after the Golden State game. 

“Just keep us in the game at the beginning and the second quarter, so we don’t have to be like that in the third and fourth when we have to battle.”

Mikal knows he has to improve

Mikal realizes he plays a part in the Nets' slow starts and wants everyone to pitch in to fix it. In the Warriors game, he had a tough first half, making only 1 out of 6 shots. Thankfully, Cameron Thomas managed to pick up the slack and kept the Nets afloat with 24 points in the 24 minutes.

Mikal is dissatisfied with his and the team's performance, aiming to stay competitive throughout the game. Constantly playing catch-up is problematic, leading to increased fatigue.

Brooklyn has to follow Cam’s lead because being locked in is crucial to their goal of winning the game and competing for all 48 minutes.

Coach Vaughn has to refine his offense

While the Nets are an above-average offensve force this season, ranked ninth in offensive rating with 118, they need to improve in the area. Most of the time, the team is relying on Mikal and Cam in isolation which is good but they don’t have to keep running that play every time.

Spencer Dinwiddie has done his best to distribute the ball but drawing up more off-ball screen plays or smarter cuts will be a good way to strengthen the team’s firepower. Coach Jacque Vaughn's tactics will be tested there but with his experience, that should be a solveable issue.

Jacque Vaughn provides Ben Simmons' recovery update

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Marin Gabric
MARIN GABRIC

Marin's love for writing developed in high school but was furthered in college when he took a number of creative writing courses. Doing sports writing felt like an extremely natural continuation, as it furthered his passions in both writing and basketball.  Marin loves the feeling of looking at stats after a game and analyzing what each team could've done better or what they excel in compared to the rest of the league. And the ability to do so for his favorite team, the Brooklyn Nets, is quite special in itself. 

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