When 76ers key on Mikal Bridges, Nets teammates need to step up
The Nets' Mikal Bridges, right, shoots over the 76ers' Tobias Harris in the first half during Game 1 in the first round of the NBA playoffs Saturday in Philadelphia. Credit: AP/Derik Hamilton
PHILADELPHIA — Mikal Bridges has been to the NBA Finals and played on a No. 1 playoff seed. But this Nets-76ers first- round playoff series presents a challenge he hadn’t seen before.
The test? How to thrive while being the No. 1 target for an opposing playoff defense.
After scoring 30 points in Game 1, Bridges had 21 points in Monday’s 96-84 Game 2 loss but shot just 6-for-15 from the field because the 76ers double-teamed him and blitzed him on screens.
Since shooting 10-for-16 in the first half of Game 1, Bridges has shot 8-for-17 in the next six quarters, including 3-for-9 on three-pointers. It’s an adjustment not only for him but for the Nets, who trail 2-0 in the series and have lacked the scoring balance to help their star guard.
“It’s on me to continue to get the ball to him and also continue to have pace where they’re not bogging him down, holding him, grabbing him and letting him not play with freedom of movement,” coach Jacque Vaughn said.
Bridges’ teammates also have to step up with the series moving to Barclays Center for Game 3 on Thursday. If the 76ers keep up their strategy, the Nets will need more players to produce the way Cam Johnson did with 28 points in Game 2.
Bridges did his part with seven assists leading to 19 points in Game 2. Johnson said the Nets can’t be afraid to shoot if Bridges finds them.
“Guys like me, I want them to trap Mikal. I can get shots on the back end,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “It’s just got to be the other four guys to play against their three and make the right reads.”
Whether that plan works could determine if the Nets play beyond Game 4 on Saturday.
The 76ers have shown the balance the Nets lack, and as Bridges adjusts to more attention, he and the Nets have to figure out a solution. “I’ll be more aware of it going to set screens,” center Nic Claxton said. “We all got to make sure if we’re cutting off-ball or guys are spacing out for the three. We’ll make sure that we’re in the right spots.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
