Inside The Nets

Mikal Bridges is glad the Nets responded well to the losing streak

The Nets suffered a five-game losing streak, but they responded well by ending it against the Pistons.

Marin Gabric

© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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Heading into the December 23 game against the Detroit Pistons, the Nets were on a five-game losing streak. This involved a tough road trip to the West Coast, where most of the squad struggled to shoot.

The most prominent player who had trouble was Mikal Bridges, who averaged 16 points per game during that stretch, well below his 20+ PPG average to start the 2023/24 season. He responded well with a 29-point performance to help Brooklyn’s strong performance to end the losing streak.

“That was good. We were playing a desperate team, desperate to get a win. The whole world knows about the losing streak and everything. So, we come out and play hard, we’re desperate too so got out there and play hard, and win this game,” Mikal said after the game.

Mikal finally broke out of his slump

It was well-documented that Bridges struggled during their latest road trip to the West Coast. The Nets struggled because they usually rely on him to be a star scorer while also playing elite defense. Losing his threat of scoring helped the opposing teams defend them more easily since they already neutralized the 6’6’' star.

Mikal came out swinging in this game as he led the Nets’ strong start. He scored 19 points in the first half, and Brooklyn never looked back as Detroit had to play catch-up the whole game. This is exactly what the former Villanova Wildcat aimed for in earlier games, prompting him to capitalize on the vulnerable Pistons defense.

Mikal is high on his duo with Cam Thomas

Brooklyn is blessed to have two 20+ PPG scorers in Mikal and Cameron Thomas. The duo had a strong performance in this game, as Mikal had 29 while Cam had 20 of his own. They were superb at knocking down shots and dominating the Detroit defense.

“I just think because of the fact we can score 25 a night… I just know it’s gonna be tough offensively to guard us if we both got it going,” Bridges said about his partnership with Thomas.

The Nets have immense potential for the rest of the season if this tandem continues to thrive. As long as they play well in coach Jacque Vaughn’s system, this Nets team has the potential to make it far in the NBA Playoffs, but they have to keep this going first.

Cam Johnson believes the win over the Pistons can be the start of a winning streak

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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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