Mikal Bridges, new-look Nets making the switch to defense

While the result wasn’t what he wanted, Nets coach Jacques Vaughn could live with his team’s 101-98 loss to the 76ers on Saturday night at Barclays Center. That’s because of the way the Nets played and the way they competed.

“The biggest thing is we only gave 101 points,” Vaughn said during his postgame news conference. “[I] told the group if we’re able to put ourselves in positions to [defend] that way on an every-night basis, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win every single game. [I] commend our group for really concentrating on [the] defensive end of the floor [and] giving ourselves a chance.”

With Kyrie Irving now a Maverick and Kevin Durant about to ply his trade for the Suns, this is a new era for the Nets. It’s one in which defense will have to be the initial — and perhaps primary — calling card.

And while one game is an inadequate sample size, limiting Joel Embiid and Co. to 44% shooting from the field (33-for-75) and 26.1% from three-point range (6-for-23) with a new starting five of Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and Nic Claxton is a good place to begin.

How does Bridges envision the way he and the rest of the starters should be able to defend? “Being able to switch,” he said. “A lot of presentation, being in shifts. They’re all active, long arms, tall, so it’s tougher for the offense that’s just about to drive, just seeing that wall . . . When we saw the lineup, I [thought to myself] I like this because we all can switch, we all can guard. It’s going to be tough [on opponents].”

Such as, say, James Harden.

Vaughn assigned Bridges to Harden, who finished with 29 points and shot 9-for-20 from the field, including 2-for-6 from three-point range. He also made all nine of his free-throw attempts.

Harden got his points, but he had to work for them.

“I think [it is] something we can build off,” Vaughn said. “Mikal has the energy to pick up guys full-court. We tried to wear down Harden a little bit throughout the course of the game. So it was part of our strategy, but [Bridges’] ability to be able to accept playing defense [is something]. I’m looking forward to that on a nightly basis for sure.”

If defense is the foundation for these Nets, the one area in which they will miss Durant and Irving is on offense. Before suffering a sprained right MCL against the Heat on Jan. 8, Durant was averaging 29.7 points per game. Irving’s 27.0 points per game ranks eighth in the league.

“It’s interesting,” said Vaughn, whose team scored only 16 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night. “Just reflecting back quickly without watching the game already, I think we had some good looks . . . We had open threes and so we could still play at a pace and create shots for each other.”