Mikal Bridges discussion, news and highlights

[bwgood77]

My impression after seeing Mikal in-person during the Denver debacle, is that he is going to be GOOD. The moment / game was not too big for Bridges. He was poised and played within the system. Good handle, smooth, long, great anticipation of screens, and he was a knock-down shooter in the Denver game. I was VERY impressed. He arguably out-played JJ.

I agree with some other posters that JJ is trending towards a Ron Artest / Marcus Smart / Dray Green defensive specialist. Mikal is a skinnier Joe Johnson without the post-up game.

I don't think those are good comps. Right now, the player JJ most reminds me of is Corey Brewer. I have a hard time coming up with a comp for Mikal... Khris Middleton isn't quite right. I had Klay as a comp before the draft, and his production might end up similar, but they are very different players from a physical perspective.

In any case, early indications are clear: Mikal and TJ belong ahead of JJ in the rotation. This team would do much better with a true PG getting those two the ball, and they could use one more quality big. Too bad Dragan Bender = Darko Milicic. Too bad JJ isn't De'Aaron Fox.

I saw a comparison pre draft of Mikal to Kawhi...I said that's a little much, a little bold, and even though I had him around my top 5-7 on my board, a top 5 player in the league is an obvious stretch for a player comp.

BUT, they have many similarities in their games..Bridges was a great defender, they have enormous wingspans, but Bridges was already a much better shooter. He's coming in more seasoned than Kawhi, so he likely has less upside than Kawhi did. But he is probably can be a really good 3D guy like that....Paul George...those guys probably had better handles but whether you want to say poor man's Kawhi/George something like that, I think he's kind of like that.

I don't know about Josh Jackson right now, but he's needs to play with more control. He is almost the last guy who should shoot it when he's on the floor, unless he is at the rim, so he really should be driving and dishing or finishing or just moving the ball to someone with an open shot. But players may play off him if they have a rim protector in the middle.

[lilfishi22]

I still think JJ's a less productive SF version of Russ. Just out of control, a lot of TO's, bad shot selection, can't really shot but good defense when focused solely on shutting a player down. He's really a do it all kind of player but he's just not doing anything well at the moment.

The difference between Russ and JJ (aside from position) is that Russ is just much more physically imposing for his position than JJ and that allows him to force his way to the rim where he's a fantastic finisher. Having an elite skill right off the bat made Russ dangerous. JJ is athletic but he's not particular big or particularly long; he didn't have the physical advantages that Russ did at his position. Russ is just an amazing athlete who is able to use it to his advantage.

[bwgood77]

I still think JJ's a less productive SF version of Russ. Just out of control, a lot of TO's, bad shot selection, can't really shot but good defense when focused solely on shutting a player down. He's really a do it all kind of player but he's just not doing anything well at the moment.

The difference between Russ and JJ (aside from position) is that Russ is just much more physically imposing for his position than JJ and that allows him to force his way to the rim where he's a fantastic finisher. Having an elite skill right off the bat made Russ dangerous. JJ is athletic but he's not particular big or particularly long; he didn't have the physical advantages that Russ did at his position. Russ is just an amazing athlete who is able to use it to his advantage.

I almost mentioned Russ again since I have mentioned that one a bit but at this point it seems a little generous. He needs to crash the boards and really find guys with his passing. The shooting part and the turnover part..he's got that down, though he's not as good as a FT shooter so getting to the line isn't as effective.

He has so many good teammates to pass to now he shouldn't try and do too much on his own on offense.

[lilfishi22]

I still think JJ's a less productive SF version of Russ. Just out of control, a lot of TO's, bad shot selection, can't really shot but good defense when focused solely on shutting a player down. He's really a do it all kind of player but he's just not doing anything well at the moment.

The difference between Russ and JJ (aside from position) is that Russ is just much more physically imposing for his position than JJ and that allows him to force his way to the rim where he's a fantastic finisher. Having an elite skill right off the bat made Russ dangerous. JJ is athletic but he's not particular big or particularly long; he didn't have the physical advantages that Russ did at his position. Russ is just an amazing athlete who is able to use it to his advantage.

I almost mentioned Russ again since I have mentioned that one a bit but at this point it seems a little generous. He needs to crash the boards and really find guys with his passing. The shooting part and the turnover part..he's got that down, though he's not as good as a FT shooter so getting to the line isn't as effective.

He has so many good teammates to pass to now he shouldn't try and do too much on his own on offense.

It's about as generous as comparing Mikal to Kawhi lite but I think as long as we're clear it's a comparison of their player profile and not in terms of projections, it's a fine comparison. I just think they have a lot of similarities in their rookie season. You're right in that he's not a good FT shooter but I don't agree it's not effective. I'd much rather he miss 40%-50% of his FT's while getting guys in foul trouble than missing 65% of his field goals because they just end up being unrewarded offensive possessions.

[bwgood77]

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[Qwigglez]

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Just gotta play him a full 48 minutes then.

[lilfishi22]

GOAT Status

[_79_]

Did he bang Igor's wife or something?

[bwgood77]

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[lilfishi22]

This is a guy who came from the highest of highs at the college level to the lowest of lows in the NBA. But he comes in, not expecting minutes, not expecting he'll get shots and not expecting to touch the ball but the guy just comes in and plays hard. When the opportunity comes along, he makes the right plays and takes care of the ball.

The rest of the squad, including Booker and Ayton should look to him for a winning mindset.

[DirtyDez]

This is a guy who came from the highest of highs at the college level to the lowest of lows in the NBA. But he comes in, not expecting minutes, not expecting he'll get shots and not expecting to touch the ball but the guy just comes in and plays hard. When the opportunity comes along, he makes the right plays and takes care of the ball.

The rest of the squad, including Booker and Ayton should look to him for a winning mindset.

[lilfishi22]

The increased minutes of Bridges, TJ and limiting the minutes of JJ are clear examples of where Igor has made adjustment and evidently hasn't shown 'disdain' for young players or preferring to play vets. He plays guys who contribute and are a positive on the court. The only reason he plays Canaan or Ariza or whoever else is because their back up aren't bringing it either

[wheezy]

Seriously my favorite player on the team.

[bwgood77]

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[Saberestar]

[sunsfever68]

Thank you fired McDonough for trading for him.

He's the SF of the future, he's completely untouchable in trades unless he brings us a prime young superstar, he will be a Kawhi lite type player, Booker Bridges Ayton are the 3 building blocks.

I'll sell high on Warren if I can get a point guard back or an impact 4 man to balance the roster out. I like TJ alot but if we have to move a SF it's warren/jackson not bridges.

[lilfishi22]

He's the only player on the team who have played meaningful minutes with a positive net rating. He's a hair below Booker in offensive rating and #1 in defensive rating. Bridges is a great kid and he's one of McD's best decision among the many poor ones he's made

Funnily enough, Bender actually #1 in defensive rating (by a good margin) although he hasn't played enough minutes but his offensive rating is so poor, he's still a net negative lol

[JMac1]

Love Bridges. He makes us watchable when Booker and Ayton are not in. He has made Jackson's regression palatable.

[bwgood77]

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As good as his net rtg and on/off is already, once he starts hitting more of these, and he will, he will be crazy good.

[Qwigglez]

I'm excited to see him improve over the summer. He doesn't have a spin move yet, but once he gets that done he'll add a huge dimension to his game. I see him getting stopped a lot when driving to the hoop, and that's where this spin move will get him to the next level. Sounds silly, but the dude is so freakishly long he'll be able to finish so easily. His threes from the corner will start dropping eventually as the season goes on.