3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets explosive win over Chicago Bulls

3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets explosive win over Chicago Bulls

We’ve all been where the Brooklyn Nets put Chicago Bulls fans last night. Football, basketball, cricket, whatever — everyone knows that one team that always kills theirs — no matter the talent discrepancy.

For Brooklyn, it’s the Memphis Grizzlies, who even before Ja Morant fully developed and with the Nets boasting their 7/11 duo, rattled off seven straight wins vs them from 2019-2022. For the Atlanta Braves, it’s the Philadelphia Phillies. For the Dallas Cowboys, it’s anyone they face in the playoffs.

Just as a carriage turns into a pumpkin at midnight, these opposing units turn into the ‘17 Golden State Warriors, Murderers’ Row Yankees, or the ‘85 Chicago Bears every time they draw a team with your rooting interest as an opponent. Bippity. Boppity. Boo.

It’s an abundantly clear coping mechanism, one that allows us all to hide from the sobering truth that our teams were simply outplayed that night. Nonetheless, it’s something every all-too-invested sport-watching individual partakes in.

While the Bulls are only one, or at best, two weight classes above Brooklyn in terms of talent this year, the Nets had no business doing what they did to them last night and this season at large.

Here’s what we learned in the Brooklyn beatdown, or jinx, depending on your point of view.

Recency Bias Could Affect Offseason Decisions

It seems as if the Brooklyn Nets only have room for one off-the-bench, big-energy, wing player at a time. With the sun setting on Lonnie Walker in the final quarter of the season, it’s risen for Trendon Watford.

While last night came as Walker IV’s eighth game this month logging less than 15 minutes, it was Watford’s third straight logging 19 or more. Wat dropped 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. It was another “do it all” effort for him, where he illustrated his ability to break down a defense from the top of the key or stretch the floor as an ancillary player, while still playing stingy, versatile defense.

Amid this three-game run, he’s averaging 14.0 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal per game while shooting 62.5 percent from the field. He’s also shooting 50.0% from deep on 3.3 triples per game. Both represent significant improvements from his .532/.396 season slashes.

Anytime you have a team certain to miss the playoffs, but with a player surging late in the season, it doesn’t take long for the “should we bring him back” questions to start rolling in.

Given the minimal team success they experienced with them aboard this year, there’s very little reason to believe the Nets will make a strong effort to bring back most of their expiring players this summer. That’s just how the league goes. However, both Watford (23-years-old) and and Walker IV (25-years-old) fit Brooklyn’s timeline, giving themselves each something of a case to return.

Still, odds are they likely both won’t be back again considering disappointing the nature of this season.

Earlier this year, Walker IV abundantly held a lead in the race for a roster spot next year. He put up Sixth Man of the Year numbers in October and November, but injuries and inconsistent minutes have transformed him into Brooklyn’s 12th man of late. On the other hand, Watford is playing his best ball of the season right now.

The question of whether or not either of these guys wants to be back in Brooklyn is just as important here. Despite what Sean Marks and Joe Tsai think, I can understand free agents looking at Brooklyn and turning the other way, at least right now.

Regardless, this late surge from Watford is setting the table for an interesting offseason. If it comes down to one spot, will the Nets weigh the 25% of the year where Watford’s been better more than the 75% from Walker IV because it’s fresher in their minds? Is that the right thing to do? As Wat keeps hitting shots and making plays, the questions just keep building.

Mikal Bridges is Saving His 3-Point Shooting Numbers

En route to what went down as a tie for most made triples by the Nets in a game all season, Mikal Bridges pulled an excess of the weight. On a night where Cam Thomas hit almost all the flashy shots and Dennis Schröder went ballistic as well, he quietly shot 7-of-11 from deep.

Again, Thomas had almost all the flashy shots.

Those seven triples tied a career-high for Bridges. He was decisive in catch-and-shoot situations, moving well around screens to free himself up and never hesitating to pull the trigger when open. It was another example of why he’s far better off-ball as opposed to what Brooklyn tried to do with him earlier in the year.

In what’s been a down year for Bridges from a statistical standpoint, it’s almost like he’s going for a backdoor cover in terms of his metrics from deep. Propelled by another efficient outing last night, he’s shooting 42.7 percent on 7.1 attempts from deep in March.

It won’t be enough to save his season from a PR standpoint. Nets fans and haters alike will surely look back at this season and view it as one where Bridges disappointed them given the team record and his overall numbers. But at the end of the day, the 3-point shot is his bread and butter. Lifting that late should bode well for any history revisionists and Bridges in terms of building confidence for next year.

Schröder is a True Gem

Dennis Schröder does not fit the timeline I mentioned when talking about Watford and Walker IV, but he does fit just about everything else the Brooklyn Nets want to, or at least should want to be.

Him shooting 7-of-11 from deep, just like Bridges, makes it easy to write favorably about him today. Dennis the Menace looked like a playoff-level PG1 yesterday, pouring in 27 points while dropping seven assists and grabbing five rebounds and a steal.

His ability to score inside and out, create off the dribble, and play pesky defense when called upon makes him one-of-a-kind on this Nets team. He’s no superstar point guard, but he is an effective one. The amount of minutes he’s logging and what he’s doing with them shows you just how badly the Nets needed that this year.

The same goes for his attitude. Schroder again brought the juice last night, appearing to motivate his teammates and teasing opponents alike. His ferocity as a competitor and leader makes him easy to root for and surely a favorite of Kevin Ollie’s as well.

The fact that Brooklyn gets him for another year on a bargain — $13.7 million — deal represents a true W for Sean Marks in arguably his most scrutinized year as general manager. Whether or not they make good on his apparent plans to reel in a star and push Schroder to the bench, or continue to give him big minutes, he fits perfectly with this team.