The Brooklyn Nets have four players in The Ringer‘s top 125 NBA player rankings that was updated on Wednesday. Those players are: forward Mikal Bridges, guard Spencer Dinwiddie, center Nic Claxton, and forward Cam Johnson. The ironic thing about this list is three of the four players (excluding Claxton) were not on the Nets to start this season.
Bridges and Johnson came to Brooklyn from the Phoenix Suns via the Kevin Durant trade and Dinwiddie came to the Nets from the Dallas Mavericks as a result of the Kyrie Irving trade. Even though the team wanted to keep Durant and Irving in hopes of pursuing a championship, both players wanted out for various reasons.
Fortunately for Brooklyn, they got some good players in those trades considering that Bridges and Dinwiddie are arguably the two best players on the team. Claxton has been a steady force all season as the team’s defensive anchor and Johnson has been as anticipated as a shooter. Here’s more information about each player plus what The Ringer thinks about them:
F – Mikal Bridges (Ranked 44)
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Bridges has been better than advertised for the Brooklyn Nets. Not only has he been playing elite defense like he was for the Phoenix Suns, but he’s scoring at an elite level too. He’s averaging 26.3 points per game while shooting 50.6% from the field and 45.8% from three-point land. Here’s how The Ringer describes Bridges:
“No-nonsense iron man on the wing who complements everyone around him while assuming the toughest defensive assignment every night. Also can really shoot.”
C – Nic Claxton (60)
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Claxton has been one of the best players on the Nets since this season began. He is leaps and bounds better this season than he was last season and there has been some chatter about him being a candidate for the DPOY and MIP awards. The Ringer describes him as:
“The kind of center who can complete a title contender through his paint presence on both ends.”
G – Spencer Dinwiddie (99)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Dinwiddie has been what the Nets needed in terms of a player who can run the offense as well as score when needed. Obviously, Dinwiddie is not the level of Kyrie Irving in terms of scoring the basketball, but one can argue that Dinwiddie is the better facilitator and is a good enough scorer to be a threat whenever he’s on the floor. The Ringer says that Dinwiddie is:
“Bonus creator with a skill set that’s tailor-made for supporting an offensive titan.”
F – Cam Johnson (102)
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Johnson hasn’t been shooting the three-ball as well with Brooklyn as he did for Phoenix, but that can be attributed to him learning his role within the Nets’ offense. He has shot the ball well enough to still be a positive shooting the ball and he should shoot the ball better as the season goes on. The Ringer classifies Johnson as:
“Ideal supporting piece who’s big enough to hold his own on defense while showcasing an outside shot that opponents can’t ignore.”
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