For the Brooklyn Nets, there's no filling the void created by the trade of future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant.
But Mikal Bridges, one of the players the Nets acquired in exchange for Durant, has been doing his best Durant impression since arriving in Brooklyn.
Bridges turned in yet another masterpiece on Tuesday night against the Rockets, pouring in 30 points with five assists, a steal and two blocks. The fifth-year small forward was once again efficient from the field, going 9-of-20 overall, including 4-of-10 from deep, and knocking down all eight of his free throws.
The 26-year-old Villanova product has had the hot hand, to say the least, since joining the Nets, becoming the first player in league history to shoot at least 50% from the field, 40% on 3-pointers, and 90% from the charity stripe in his first 10 games with a new team.
Long known as a durable ace defender and a third or fourth option for the Phoenix Suns -- averaging 12 points in 32 minutes per game for his career -- Bridges seems to be realizing previously untapped potential. Since joining Brooklyn, Bridges is averaging a whopping 26.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game.
For Nets journalists and fans, Bridges' apparent ascent has been a hugely pleasant surprise.
"We're seeing a leap," says host Doug Norrie on the latest episode of the Locked On Nets podcast. "We're seeing a superstar leap happening right now."
Perhaps most importantly, Bridges' surge seems to be coinciding with the Nets righting the ship. The team is riding a modest three-game winning streak -- including a rousing comeback win over the Celtics -- after dropping six of their first seven games following the Durant trade. Tuesday's win brought the Nets to within one game behind the Knicks for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
"The real cherry on top about this is that he's doing it while the team is also winning basketball games," said co-host Adam Armbrecht.
"That's the kind of contrast, to use a player on this team, big performances from Cam Thomas, but not wins. Mikal Bridges is giving big performances, and leading the team to wins."
For Norrie, Bridges' performance was going to be the "key" to the Durant trade -- and so far, the returns are hugely encouraging.
"The whole key to the Durant trade was going to be Bridges being good. Everything else, whatever comes later, comes later -- the draft picks, whatever else. The key to the Durant trade being even a semblance of equal, or fair, for what you gave up, had to rely on Bridges taking a leap. ...
"I don't think anybody, no how lofty your expectations were on Mikal Bridges, saw this coming. This is just ridiculous, in a good way. His last eight games, he's top 10 in the league in scoring -- top 10. And the other names aren't just run-hot Larrys, just piling numbers on. The other guys in this group are Lillard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Doncic, Embiid. That's the group. So, even existing in this group, and to have W's on the back of it, it's really cool."
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