Team USA lost a brutal game in the consolation match against Canada on Sunday to fall out of the medals at FIBA. Even with a Mikal Bridges miracle heave of a three at the end, the US team wasn’t able to pull it out in overtime. The Locked on Nets guys take a look back at the FIBA run in general and also the overall play of Mikal Bridges who was arguably the best player on the team during this run.
They also talk about expectations for the team going into this season and FIBA has shaped some of that.
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19 Comments
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Mikal Bridges deserves a spot on the Olympic roster not only did he play his ass off in the World Cup they’ll need a versatile wing
At the end of the day team USA had a good group of players but really lacked size and a center that could rebound.
But Mikal Bridges not only stepped up to become a key cog in team USA journey but he statistically became the best player overall and he earned that 🔥🔥🔥…
Mikal may not have the gold 🪙 yet but he's definitely opening up NBA eyes from talent coaches and some of the best in the game.
One thing for certain and that's Mikal Bridges wants to build something special in Brooklyn…..
The Brooklyn Nets are going to use this season to build around this new main core and they have the most draft capital in the East so when names like Joel Embid Luka Doncic Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell potentially become available after this season Brooklyn will definitely be keeping their eyes open…..
But it will be great to see how this new squad keeps building up the culture and establishing a foundation to eventually become a contender again….
Also Portland and Miami are expected to engage in trade talks before training camp and again the question of who will be a third team to help facilitate this has yet to be answered.
Ultimately Miami needs the 2025 Suns first round draft pick from Brooklyn to open up more picks to send out to Portland to acquire Dame while Tyler Herro could be dealt to Brooklyn and expiring contracts being sent out to Portland.
Brooklyn makes great sense as that third team and a core of Mikal Bridges Cam Johnson Tyler Herro and Nic Claxton could be a competitive core four to build around as well….
I love Mikal Bridges
Concerning Team USA, who really gives a sh*t about the stats of Mikal Bridges when we should be more embarrassed we didn't metal in the FIBA games?
What do you expect when you get 12 players, that's never played together, and a coaching staff, that's never coached them, to become a cohesive team in a short amount of time? I'm not surprised we didn't look good against the international competition, that's improved over the years, because of an increasing number of NBA players in their ranks. Add to that, they had better chemistry, cohesion, camaraderie, and showed more national pride than Team USA.
Not even the "great" Steve Kerr, with all of his NBA championship rings, could pull a rabbit out of his hat to get us a metal. Lol Small ball only work with his Golden State Warriors, not the FIBA games. Our roster was poorly constructed.
My biggest take away from the FIBA games is that Team USA didn't have a sufficient enough amount time to develop their roster, chemistry, and cohesion needed to be successful. Without that, I think the result would've been the same even if we had the best coaching staff and players in the NBA in our camp.
@Doug Norrie I look forward to seeing Spencer Dinwiddie back leading the Nets offense while "dribbling the air out of the ball.". Could you come up with something fresh? Lol
Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are just two pieces to the Nets puzzle and not the whole puzzle. That's an important reminder for fans that seem hell bent on establishing a hierarchy of the team rather than a team effort philosophy. There will be plenty of time for that before the trade deadline. Being the lead point guard, Dinwiddie will have the task of emphasizing team effort as he lead the offense.
LON blaming the players for Team USA's poor performance and not the head coach was predictable. They had a hard time being critical of Steve Nash when he was the Nets head coach. Of course they piled on with doubts about him within a month of him getting fired. No way will they be critical of Steve Kerr. They, probably, rather walk on hot coals without shoes before that. Lol
Steve Kerr was out coached. It was JUST that the euro teams were bigger that’s just a simplistic excuse. They exposed players like Brunson, Reeves, etc. on defense in ways that the NBA teams could figure out. It goes back to quotes that euro guys like Giannas and Luka who said the euro game is tougher and people laughed maybe it is in a lot ways.
The Olympic team next year will be a whole different story.
I’m a little disappointed how Cam Johnson faded in FIBA. I’m also a bit concerned that Ben Simmons not being 100% on 9/1 may be a harbinger of things to come.
For all the talk about bridges was any of us really that concerned about his production and his ability to be a consistent threat? not me.
The bigger issue and concern is Cam Johnson. Who is basically a benchwarmer on this team behind the guy like Austin Reeves who can’t play any defense. There is no reason why a 6 foot 8 3 and D wing can’t be productive in the European game. Nets fans that should be really concerned about the disappearing act from Cam Johnson.. we are relying on him to be our number two scorer and it’s pretty concerning that cam Johnson couldn’t get burn on basically the NBA’s JV roster. You can’t talk glowingly about how well bridges played and then ignore how poorly Johnson played. That’s the far more important Nets story.
Cant wait for next season! Let's goooo
Bridges should be back for the Olympic team.