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sunskerr wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:Do you think he will be better than a guy like Caris LeVert who got 3/52? I think he will likely be a guy a number of teams want to go after. He could range from a guy like Covington to something close to George. His 2nd year #s are not too far off from George in many respects. He is not as good from 3 but far better from 2. He shoots over 60% from 2 and has a TS% of 61%,far higher than George did. If he happened to get close to 40% from 3 and added close to 2 more apg, he would be a fairly elite 2 way player.

He would have to develop a handle to become more like Paul George. It's not unheard of for more defensive role players on the wing to develop handles and take the next step. Siakam and Jaylen Brown did it this year. Butler and George did it in years past. Mikal is a pretty good athlete, with long arms and quickness, and some alright hops. He would be ideal for developing his game in the fashion that those other guys have. As with any case, it's always a long shot. But that's what he would need to do.

It's interesting certainly, and you'd it's something the team would try to work on. No reason not to- a tighter handle and being able to drive is always a great addition to anyone's game even if they don't take the leap from role player to star.

He drives a bit, and finishes at like 70% at the rim. A lot of those are cuts, but many are drives as well. Not saying his handle is great, but it's good. I don't think he's going to be as good as George, because obviously he's become one of the best players in the NBA, and I don't see his offense getting there, but in their 2nd years, Bridges wasn't terribly far off and better in some areas. I think he's more of the ultimate glue guy though, who is capable of having big games, but he's more of a team player.

jcsunsfan wrote:

sunsbg wrote:There's like 2% chance Mikal becomes as good as PG.

His D is good to great, but not elite. Not hating on the guy, just surprised by so high expectations being put on him.

Wrong. His D is elite. There is no question about it. He is one of the best defenders in the league. His offense will not be on the PG level though.

Suns fans just do not appreciate good D. He is 7th in the league in steals/36 and if you think the /36 stat is flawed, he has more minutes than everyone else ahead of him on that list. And steals aren't even the best part of his D. He is an underappreciated defender league wide, but that will change.

I really hope so, just need more evidence of this elite defense, especially defending great offensive players. Siakam and Mitchell are just recent examples of players who did just fine against him. Doncic was on a back to back and Mavs fans say he's bad on those. Let's see next two games in a week or so against him.

sunsbg wrote:

jcsunsfan wrote:

sunsbg wrote:There's like 2% chance Mikal becomes as good as PG.

His D is good to great, but not elite. Not hating on the guy, just surprised by so high expectations being put on him.

Wrong. His D is elite. There is no question about it. He is one of the best defenders in the league. His offense will not be on the PG level though.

Suns fans just do not appreciate good D. He is 7th in the league in steals/36 and if you think the /36 stat is flawed, he has more minutes than everyone else ahead of him on that list. And steals aren't even the best part of his D. He is an underappreciated defender league wide, but that will change.

I really hope so, just need more evidence of this elite defense, especially defending great offensive players. Siakam and Mitchell are just recent examples of players who did just fine against him. Doncic was on a back to back and Mavs fans say he's bad on those. Let's see next two games in a week or so against him.

The fact that he was defending both Siakam and Mitchell in itself is amazing. Mikal's forte is in his ability to play great team D.

He quietly effects games... about every one of them

Bridges on here in some pretty good company...(bunched up with Kawhi, George, Butler and PJ Tucker)

bwgood77 wrote:Bridges on here in some pretty good company...(bunched up with Kawhi, George, Butler and PJ Tucker)

Where did you get this?

jcsunsfan wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:Bridges on here in some pretty good company...(bunched up with Kawhi, George, Butler and PJ Tucker)

Where did you get this?

I saw it on the Raptors board before we played them, talking about how they had several players with good ratings. I think it's a chart from b-ball index.

I don't see Mikal getting to the point where he's a self creator like PG but that's fine. If he can attack close out and finish at or near the rim or just shoot at a high clip from the 3, that's really all he needs to be to be really valuable in this league

lilfishi22 wrote:I don't see Mikal getting to the point where he's a self creator like PG but that's fine. If he can attack close out and finish at or near the rim or just shoot at a high clip from the 3, that's really all he needs to be to be really valuable in this league

Yeah, I agree with that....but I think he can be a really good passer, defender, finisher and shooter. In a way like a Draymond Green with better shooting and probably more versatility defending. They have the same wingspan. Obviously Green given his thicker body has an easier time on centers but Mikal can probably guard the other 4 positions fairly well, and some small ball centers.

bwgood77 wrote:

lilfishi22 wrote:I don't see Mikal getting to the point where he's a self creator like PG but that's fine. If he can attack close out and finish at or near the rim or just shoot at a high clip from the 3, that's really all he needs to be to be really valuable in this league

Yeah, I agree with that....but I think he can be a really good passer, defender, finisher and shooter. In a way like a Draymond Green with better shooting and probably more versatility defending. They have the same wingspan. Obviously Green given his thicker body has an easier time on centers but Mikal can probably guard the other 4 positions fairly well, and some small ball centers.

It will be interesting to see if Bridges gets more of the shots with Oubre out tonight. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bridges averaging 15pts/5rb/3ast/2stl/1blk in his third year.

bigfoot wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:

lilfishi22 wrote:I don't see Mikal getting to the point where he's a self creator like PG but that's fine. If he can attack close out and finish at or near the rim or just shoot at a high clip from the 3, that's really all he needs to be to be really valuable in this league

Yeah, I agree with that....but I think he can be a really good passer, defender, finisher and shooter. In a way like a Draymond Green with better shooting and probably more versatility defending. They have the same wingspan. Obviously Green given his thicker body has an easier time on centers but Mikal can probably guard the other 4 positions fairly well, and some small ball centers.

It will be interesting to see if Bridges gets more of the shots with Oubre out tonight. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bridges averaging 15pts/5rb/3ast/2stl/1blk in his third year.

Oubre may be done for the year. If that is the case, Bridges really needs to start scoring the rock, we need the points.

Bridges really needs 2 thing to unlock his offensive game, and those are handles and a pull up jumper. Right now he's locked to 3s or straight line drives. If hes able to pull up he can mix up defenders better. He's already flashed this a few times, and although the footwork looks a little sloppy, I think he can grow in this regard. A handle will help him so much, from being able to dribble away from traps to doing basic moves to break players down. A stronger handle will change him from a stand-still scoring threat on the perimeter.
The handle I'm not as confident in his ability to improve tbh. He has these long arms and it kinda forces him to dribble the ball further away from his body than other players. His handle is far from compact, and it seems like he struggles choosing between keeping his head up and keeping his dribble down. Hes going to have to address that in the coming seasons. Thankfully I heard him mention his handle being a focus of improvement for him before, so he knows what he needs to work on.

Everybody on this team is dumb.

Damkac wrote:

Everybody on this team is dumb.

Mikal giving his thoughts about offense, is like a fat guy selling you advocare. Dude is not credible

These kids mane...

Quickest way to be hated

Talk crap about an all time great celtics team
Bash Jordan

Mikal is an idiot. Was a fan, now I am all for trading that turd

Cannot give opinion on offense when you have zero offense

Honestly, who cares...

Worry about something important

suns12345 wrote:Honestly, who cares...

Worry about something important

That is important . Our high IQ player just proved to be Low IQ

The NBA old-timers are always bashing the new kids. How many quotes are there of retired NBA players implying or flat out saying that player x from their generation would dominate in today's league? Jordan said he'd score 100, McGrady said Kobe would score 100, Rodman said Jordan would easily average 50, and there are countless more.

I have no problem with Mikal saying what he did - it's time the new guys call out the old players; everyone else certainly seems to be giving them a pass

Wilber85 wrote:

suns12345 wrote:Honestly, who cares...

Worry about something important

That is important . Our high IQ player just proved to be Low IQ

There's IQ and there's bball IQ Besides, this is just trash talking, just move on.