The sample size is not so tiny anymore.
A few poor games have turned into an extended slide for Mikal Bridges, who so far has not been able to shoot his way out of it.
Even in an otherwise uplifting, funk-busting win over the Thunder on Friday, the talented wing the Nets hope to build around again often looked lost.
After a four-turnover, 5-for-13 (from the field), 0-for-5 (from 3), performance, Bridges is shooting just 37 percent and 28 percent, respectively, in his past 14 games.
For his first 22 games, the 27-year-old was hitting 49.2 percent of his field goals and 38.7 percent of his 3s.
Maybe the long downturn is simply the result of the natural ebb and flow of a season, and an uptick is coming. That has been the consistent explanation from head coach Jacque Vaughn and Bridges, who have not yet betrayed concern.
“Keep shooting,” Bridges said Friday, explaining how he will emerge from this slump. “Keep working on your game. Keep shooting. Eventually they fall.”
They have not fallen enough for Bridges, a seventh-year pro who — with the added weight of being an offensive focal point and without a true playmaker to free him up — is shooting his worst percentage since his rookie season.
Bridges shrugged off the dip and said he has experienced struggles like this in the past.
There is wonder whether that past — of constant basketball without much interruption — could be catching up with him.
Friday marked Bridges’ 428th consecutive regular-season game played — he has not yet missed one in his career — which represents the longest active such streak in the NBA.
He has led the NBA in minutes played each of the past two seasons.
Even in the offseason, Bridges played in the FIBA World Cup with Team USA.
Could he simply be tired?
Bridges’ current downturn has come during a frenetic portion of the schedule.
The 14 games have been in 24 days, partially because the Nets will receive three full days off before and after their Thursday game in Paris.
When Bridges has been better rested this season, he has shot better.
In 28 games after zero or one day off, he has knocked down 42 percent of his shots from the field and 32.3 percent of his 3s.
Those numbers jump considerably — 54.1 percent from the field and 48.3 percent — in the eight games he has played after two or more days off.
Several of his missed 3s Friday, which came following one day of rest, were short, a possible sign of fatigue.
Thus far the Nets have not shown any desire to sit Bridges, with the exception being the Dec. 27 loss against the Bucks in which Bridges did not play after the first quarter (which, along with the other benchings, resulted in a $100,000 fine for the team).
There is reason to continue relying upon Bridges, who has a streak going and who — even when struggling — finds other ways to help.
He struggled offensively Friday but finished a plus-five, adding eight rebounds, three assists and a block.
There were instances of his being sloppy with the ball, but he also followed up a turnover by sprinting back and harassing Josh Giddey into a missed layup on a fastbreak.
He does a lot well, which is part of why he became the primary return from the Kevin Durant trade.
The Nets are hoping to unlock a superstar upside — especially for a player signed on a team-friendly contract through 2025-26 — but Bridges’ offensive game is trending the wrong way.
“At the end of this [slump], I’m quite sure his averages will be where they’re supposed to be, and he’ll be an impactful player like he’s been the majority of this season,” Vaughn said recently. “You just go through little patches where the ball isn’t going in for you.”
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