Nets Fans Hypocritical For Bemoaning Bridges’ Streak After Era Of Unavailable Stars
The Almost Glory Days of Nets basketball aren’t so far removed that I have forgotten the many instances where fans were vexed over the unavailability of key players. Between injuries and Kyrie Irving’s periods of self-sabotage, the daily underlying stories centered around who would be participating that night, who wouldn’t, and why.
Fast forward to this season—this miserable Nets season—and the tables are turned. In the ultimate irony, there’s now a segment of the fan base who is concerned that a core player—wing Mikal Bridges—is playing too much.
Bridges suited up for his 500th consecutive game, including playoffs, in Tuesday night’s 104-91 loss to visiting New Orleans. He hasn’t missed a game since his junior year of high school, according to NetsDaily.com. With his 32 minutes of action, Bridges moved into second place in the league in total minutes this season and would probably jump ahead of Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis in total miles run if the NBA.com site wasn’t missing three Nets games from its tracking tabulations.
I’m sure Bridges has had bumps and bruises like every player who has slogged through the NBA marathon with its condensed scheduling. If there’s a game, though, he wants to play, whereas others might beg out. He sounded perturbed that the Nets limited him to 12 minutes during a December 27 loss on a back-to-back at home to Milwaukee.
I find it commendable that Bridges has never asked for a break this season. Heck, I need a break. Except not everyone feels that way because, unfortunately, Bridges’ 2023-24 production has been disappointing.
Immediately upon his arrival in Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant trade at last year’s deadline, Bridges showcased why he was considered such a desired player—he averaged 26.1 points per game on decent efficiencies over the Nets’ last 27 games. Expected to take the next step this season, it went backwards, particularly as the games grew in number. He has topped last season’s scoring average just three times in his last 22 games, during which he is shooting 39.7% from the field. Among players who have taken at least 200 field goal attempts during this span, only Houston’s Dillon Brooks has shot it worse.
There’s no sugarcoating Bridges’ performances. It’s not just the lower shooting rates, it’s everything else. The ballhandling, rebounding—he’d even tell you that his defense--his old pride and joy, hasn’t been up to his (relatively high) standard this season given all the times he’s been beaten back door and off the dribble.
There are several plausible explanations for the regression. This is his first full season as a front man, the focal point of opponents’ scouting reports. He might not have the tools to be the big deal, alpha dog some projected he could develop into. It hasn’t helped that he has been forced to carry a supporting cast that is lacking in relative skill and the Nets coaching, from departed Jacque Vaughn to interim Kevin Ollie, hasn’t always put him in the best positions to succeed (i.e., in lineups with multiple non-shooters who need not be guarded outside the paint).
And then there is the fatigue theory. Some forget that Bridges spent the summer playing—every game—for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the FIBA World Cup. Only Anthony Edwards logged more minutes during the eight tournament games that concluded on September 10, less than a month before the start of Nets training camp.
Could the cumulative weight of all these games be having this much of a negative effect? Maybe, but I doubt that having Bridges end his streak with a night off will reverse the decline. After the NBA All-Star break, which gave the Nets a full week of respite, Bridges responded with scoring totals of 21, 15, 11, 4, and 15 points with a horrid shooting split of 33/17/56 in the ensuing five games.
Look, I get that this season can’t end soon enough for Bridges and Nets fans. The biggest cheers on Tuesday night were for a ridiculous alley-oop to Pelicans star Zion Williamson, the showing of newly-signed Jets receiver Mike Williams on the Jumbotron, and a Wave. The games have become irritants. The fans, those who haven’t yet become indifferent, need an outlet for their rage. No wonder Nets Twitter expresses regret every day that General Manager Sean Marks didn’t just blow up the team last month at the trade deadline, including dealing Bridges.
However, many do not comprehend Bridges’ full value. On a good team, he can be an All-Star in the vein of Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton. Plus, Bridge is signed for the next two seasons for a $24.1 million AAV, which is why Spotrac recently deemed his contract one of the NBA’s 10 best.
Maybe most importantly, he is considered the consummate teammate, a classic good guy who other stars would love to play with, provided the Nets clean up the wreckage this offseason by dumping Ben Simmons and hiring a strong head coach (no guarantees on either). These stars appreciate a player of his caliber who is willing to sacrifice his offensive load while never shying away from the opponent’s top perimeter scoring threat on defense. And yes, Bridges’ availability matters.
So at this stage, with Brooklyn (26-43) slipping to 4.5 games Atlanta in the race for the 10th and final Eastern Conference play-in seed, who cares if Bridges wants to and is healthy enough to keep playing? Whereas fans once bemoaned how their favorite Nets rarely played, now they’re going to bemoan a guy who doesn’t want to sit out?
Just one more reason to shake my head in disbelief at this Nets season.