Ice cold efficiency, Mikal Bridges roasts his shooting despite handing Pistons 27th straight L: "WTF"
Despite being an elite free-throw shooter, Brooklyn Nets star wing Mikal Bridges shot just 9-for-15 (60.0%) at the line against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. His rare off night nearly cost the Nets the game and left Bridges confounded.
Bridges entered Tuesday’s contest shooting an efficient 85.6% at the line through 29 games. However, his poor shooting performance dropped his average to 83.1%, a 2.5% decrease.
After the game, Bridges took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to call himself out. The Nets star highlighted his frustration regarding his steep decline in free-throw shooting percentage.
“I’m hot too. WTF, [I] messed my percentage up,” Bridges tweeted.
Fortunately for Bridges, Brooklyn still secured a 118-112 victory after trailing by as many as 14 points against the struggling Pistons.
The Nets were led by sharpshooter Cameron Johnson, who recorded a team-high 24 points on 69.2% shooting. Meanwhile, Bridges added 21 points, four rebounds and three assists on 42.9% shooting.
The Pistons were led by rising star guard Cade Cunningham, who finished with a game-high 41 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three 3-pointers on 71.4% shooting. However, it wasn’t enough to end Detroit’s historic losing streak.
The Pistons’ loss marked their 27th straight, the most in a single season in NBA history. They haven’t won since Oct. 28 against the Chicago Bulls. As for the Nets, they have won two straight games, both against Detroit.
Brooklyn (15-15) will look to win its third straight when it hosts the Milwaukee Bucks (22-8) on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Detroit’s (2-28) next chance to end its losing streak will come on the road against the NBA-best Boston Celtics (23-6) on Thursday.
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Monty Williams takes responsibility for Pistons’ 27-game losing streak
After Detroit’s 27th straight loss on Tuesday, Pistons coach Monty Williams took full responsibility for his team’s struggles.
“You have to be real about where we are,” Williams said. “Nobody wants something like this attached to them, and the bottom line is it is my job. Coaches are graded on their records.”
Williams signed a massive six-year, $78.5 million contract to become Detroit’s coach this past offseason. At the time, it was the largest coaching contract in NBA history.
Williams was viewed as a veteran coach who could help develop the Pistons’ young roster after their league-worst 17-65 finish last season. However, Detroit’s winning percentage (6.7%) has instead decreased substantially from last year (20.7%).
It remains to be seen if Williams will be able to turn things around. Nonetheless, this surely isn’t the start that Detroit’s front office envisioned when they signed him to his lucrative coaching deal.
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