Mikal Bridges stepped into a situation unlike any he had experienced during his NBA career when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets. With two generational scorers in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out the door, the 26-year-old was tasked with shouldering a heavy offensive burden for a Brooklyn team that still held playoff aspirations.

Bridges has exceeded expectations while drawing rave reviews during his short time with the Nets. After a 42-point performance in a win over Atlanta Friday, head coach Jacque Vaughn said the 26-year-old has welcomed the challenge of leading Brooklyn's new-look offense:

“He’s really enjoyed having the burden, I guess if we want to use that word, of scoring for us and being an offensive cog for us on a nightly basis,” Vaughn said. “This is all part of his growth… We’re gonna keep putting more on his plate.”

Nets' Mikal Bridges continues to improve

In 24 games with Brooklyn, Bridges is averaging 27.4 points, the 12th-highest mark in the league during that span, on 49/41/90 shooting splits. His 6.9 free-throw attempts per game rank 14th in the NBA. He's converted on 90.4 percent of those attempts, the second-highest mark among 34 players to attempt 5.4 or more free throws per game.

Given all this, Vaughn was asked a reasonable question before the Nets' matchup with Minnesota Tuesday: How much more can you put on Bridges' plate?

“There's a lot more room on the plate,” the coach replied. “Just overall his ability to handle the basketball I think is the next thing for him. In a lineup could he be out there and handle by himself just with other wing players around him? His ability to play pick and roll even more and be a distributor for us because he’s just gonna gain so much attention now these days. Can he be a decoy at times? And learning when to be a decoy and how to use that for the benefit of his teammates.”

“So there’s a lot still that he can learn for sure”

Despite his offensive explosion, Bridges has taken a backseat to Spencer Dinwiddie in terms of the Nets' ball-handling responsibilities. For the sake of analyzing the frequency of his ball-handling opportunities, as well as his impact, I split his possessions into three main playtypes: pick and rolls, isolations and dribble handoffs.

Bridges has handled 161 pick-and-rolls with Brooklyn, just four behind Dinwiddie. He's been highly effective, scoring on 48.4 percent of those possessions while shooting 49.2 percent (58-of-118). For reference, Dinwiddie is scoring 37.6 percent of the time while shooting 36.0 percent (41-of-114).

While he had excelled as a scorer on these plays, Bridges' tempo and body positioning to set up Claxton and Sharpe off high ball screens remains a work in progress. The Philadelphia native is averaging just 2.6 assists in Brooklyn compared to a career-high 8.6 for Dinwiddie.

Bridges has had limited opportunities to create in isolation, something that has also contributed to his low assist numbers. The Villanova product has handled the ball on 48 isolation possessions (2.0 per game) compared to 102 for Dinwiddie. He's been productive during those opportunities, scoring 48 percent of the time while shooting 47.6 percent (20-of-42). Bridges' 1.10 points per possession in isolation with the Nets ranks 13th in the NBA among 105 players with 44 or more isos this season.

The former lottery pick has been most productive on dribble handoffs, a play he frequently ran in Phoenix. Similar to the pick and roll, the play has allowed Bridges to work comfortably to the mid-range, where he is shooting 49 percent with the Nets. On 44 DHOs, Bridges is shooting 56.8 percent (21-of-37). His 1.32 points per possession on the play rank 12th in the NBA among 125 players to receive 34 or more this season.

Given Bridges' high-level efficiency as a ball handler, Brooklyn should increase the frequency of these opportunities to allow him to grow as a scorer and facilitator. When asked about his growing offensive arsenal with the Nets, Bridges said he's focused on improving all aspects of his game each day he steps on the floor:

“I'm just continuing to get better. I'm trying to work on my game and do whatever it takes to win,” he said. “Just trying to grow every day. That's the mindset.”

Brooklyn acquired Bridges with Cam Johnson and four first-round picks at the deadline for Durant. The 26-year-old's offensive breakout since the trade, along with his elite defense, has given the Nets a foundational building block as they move into a new era. Vaughn raved about Bridges' competitiveness Tuesday, something he feels bodes well for the newly-acquired Nets star as his offensive load continues to grow.

“You don’t know a guy until you spend time with him and learn his reactions on the floor after a game, in the locker room,” he said of Bridges. “The biggest thing for me is he wants to win. A lot of times you assume these guys will do anything, that it is a part of their makeup, but this guy is unique in the sense of his reaction after a game, during the game, during a mistake, a situation where he’s guarding the best player and that guy scores, him wanting to get to the free-throw line and make free-throws at the end of the game. There’s just a lot that goes into that aspect of putting yourself out there, showing up, and not knowing what the outcome’s gonna be.

“He has a great ability to continue to show up, and he’s done it game to game, when you don’t know what the outcome’s gonna be. So a tremendous individual, and you don’t know that until you spend time with him. So I’ve enjoyed my time just getting to know him as a person.”