Miles Bridges...what is his ceiling?

[Wizop]

physically he's more Artest than Marion.

Sent from my phone.

[CoreyVillains]

You guys are tripping. He definitely has some better tools than Caron Butler, Shawn Marion, Tucker and Graham. Not to underrate those players, but the current NBA-model requires players to be more skilled than Buter or Marion was. And Bridges can already do stuff that both of those players couldn’t do in their careers. Bridges doesn’t have the length you’d want, but he’s super strong, super quick off his feet. I personally don’t see a comparison for him other than maybe something like Charles Barkley, but Bridges game will be different when he enters his prime. IMO he’s a better prospect than Jaylen Brown was. His game style is going to be a lot like a young Paul George, or a bigger Victor Oladipo in terms of him creating offense and playing off the ball/cutting to the basket. When he reaches his prime he’s going to look like a poor man’s LeBron in terms of play-style, not production. His ceiling IMO is an all-star, not superstar. Solid defense, but not great and high-end offensive player.

And I would put money down that he’s going to be exactly this type of player.

Stopped reading there

At least you’re able to read two other sentences. I’m proud of you for learning to read. Soon enough you’ll be able to read an entire paragraph.

As for my comment, players nowadays have to learn a lot more on both sides of the ball because it’s about team defense, not so much individual defense, nowadays every player also has to have a handle and be able to pass and they pretty much also need to shoot or at least have a working jumper. Marion was effective and had a great feel for the game but he wasn’t very skilled. Same for Butler.

Marion was very skilled. Being a multi-skilled 3/4 was literally his calling card and what made him so valuable. You don’t need to continue to dig this hole.

[doordoor123]

Stopped reading there

At least you’re able to read two other sentences. I’m proud of you for learning to read. Soon enough you’ll be able to read an entire paragraph.

As for my comment, players nowadays have to learn a lot more on both sides of the ball because it’s about team defense, not so much individual defense, nowadays every player also has to have a handle and be able to pass and they pretty much also need to shoot or at least have a working jumper. Marion was effective and had a great feel for the game but he wasn’t very skilled. Same for Butler.

Marion was very skilled. Being a multi-skilled 3/4 was literally his calling card and what made him so valuable. You don’t need to continue to dig this hole.

I’m not in a hole. Marion was skilled in terms of passing and footwork (which is skilled ina traditional sense), but not in handle or jumpshot, which are important skills in todays game.

[916fan]

I know I'm wrong. But for some reason I just see Justin Anderson 2.0 with him.

I dont really think you are. What plus NBA skill does he bring to a team besides jumping high? He's a 3/4 tweener with a bad wingspan. 3's will be able to take him off the dribble and 4's will have no problem shooting over him. He's a mediocre shooter, he won't be able to create for himself at the NBA level, he doesn't draw FT's at a high rate, I think he has poor lateral movement. I think he has decent vision but his usage is going to be low so he won't even be able to use it much. If he is going to succeed at the NBA level he'll do it moving off the ball and in transition. I think he'll be a good bench piece in the right situation, but I'd stay away from him at the top part of the draft.

BBIQ is the biggest thing. If you think Miles is a limited ball handler, Anderson was worse in college. Miles will also be 2 years younger than Anderson was coming into the NBA.

I don't like comparing college stats head to head, but Anderson never ever showed the offensive versatility Miles has. Virginia never asked him to carry an entire offense the way Miles did at MSU. Anderson was a clear 3&D player coming out of college. Meanwhile, 3&D is Bridge's floor.

I don't think he'll have any problems guarding SFs. Who can't he keep up with? His lateral footspeed is more than good enough vs. NBA SFs.

[CoreyVillains]

I know I'm wrong. But for some reason I just see Justin Anderson 2.0 with him.

I dont really think you are. What plus NBA skill does he bring to a team besides jumping high? He's a 3/4 tweener with a bad wingspan. 3's will be able to take him off the dribble and 4's will have no problem shooting over him. He's a mediocre shooter, he won't be able to create for himself at the NBA level, he doesn't draw FT's at a high rate, I think he has poor lateral movement. I think he has decent vision but his usage is going to be low so he won't even be able to use it much. If he is going to succeed at the NBA level he'll do it moving off the ball and in transition. I think he'll be a good bench piece in the right situation, but I'd stay away from him at the top part of the draft.

BBIQ is the biggest thing. If you think Miles is a limited ball handler, Anderson was worse in college. Miles will also be 2 years younger than Anderson was coming into the NBA.

I don't like comparing college stats head to head, but Anderson never ever showed the offensive versatility Miles has. Virginia never asked him to carry an entire offense the way Miles did at MSU. Anderson was a clear 3&D player coming out of college. Meanwhile, 3&D is Bridge's floor.

I don't think he'll have any problems guarding SFs. Who can't he keep up with? His lateral footspeed is more than good enough vs. NBA SFs.

He'll probably be better than Anderson but I don't think he's going to be an impact player. Miles isn't going to be asked to carry an offense in the NBA so I think that a lot of what he was able to do in the college setting doesn't really matter when projecting the kind of NBA player he'll be. I think there's a chance that he isn't a very good 3&D player. To start, I don't think he's a good enough shooter to warrant the "3" part of that description. Despite his ok %'s overall, he struggled from NBA range. I don't think teams will worry about him at all when he's behind the arc (which if he's smart he'll use to his benefit). Look at how much he struggled shooting open 3's against Syracuse. I think the biggest issue with his jumper is his footwork, its horrible.

Defensively, besides the LeBron's and KD's whom most people struggle with; I'd say the Hayward, Tatum, Ingram, Butler, George types will give him big issues; and then even guys who are more motion based like Ingles, Ariza, Porter, Bogdonovic will bother him as he chases them around and through screens. I think he'll struggle when teams go with 3 guards and he's asked to check guys like Derozan and Beal. I just don't like how he moves. He's got wide hips and short strides.

I think he needs to commit to being a garbage man/transition guy. Learn how to take advantage of guys when they fall asleep; go backdoor, constantly move, make good cuts, crash the offensive glass. Transition he'll look great. He's a borderline lottery guy to me.

[Stillwater]

with the way he changed his game significantly to show how versatile he is in year 2, I think he could become an all-star in the league but at worst is a high level starter longterm

[Kalela]

The kid is raw skill-wise but he has a good motor and he is not a dummy. For that reason I can see him surprising people with how much he improves over the summer and how well he does in the NBA.

[ReKon]

For me he looks a lot like Jabari Parker the way he is now. Body wise and from an athletic standpoint I would say they are about the same. Both a bit bulky and below average defenders. I don't know i see a lot of Jabari in him.

[MemphisX]

Hopefully, the team that drafts him is smart enough to play him at 4.

[kobyz]

michael finley

[kb02]

My favorite player in the draft. Reasons here: https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2018/5/5/17322820/donovan-mitchell-2-0

[logical_art]

CAron Butler and LJ were nothing alike.

And Butler was much more skilled than Bridges. I see Ced Ceballos..

[King Ken]

I still love him. My favorite system sleeper in this draft.

[King Ken]

His ceiling is more of a tweener Vince Carter.

He a lot like VC to me as well. I think he's more of a system player than VC was.

[ILikeLollies]

I'm pro Miles.

Think he would be a perfect fit for Philly if he reaches his ceiling and his floor is probably better then most who will be around that spot.

[shakes0]

with the way he changed his game significantly to show how versatile he is in year 2, I think he could become an all-star in the league but at worst is a high level starter longterm

and I've got him as most likely to bust from the lottery. One of us is gonna be WAY off.

[shakes0]

My favorite player in the draft. Reasons here: https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2018/5/5/17322820/donovan-mitchell-2-0

lol, no offense but I stopped reading that at #1 when you said that Bridges can beat his man off the dribble. I knew I could disregard the whole piece as being written by someone who had probably seen Bridges play 2x this year. Anyone who watched Bridges play could see he had awful handles. I could count on one hand the amount of times I saw him beat someone off the dribble and I saw him play at least 15x this year.

[kb02]

My favorite player in the draft. Reasons here: https://www.sactownroyalty.com/2018/5/5/17322820/donovan-mitchell-2-0

lol, no offense but I stopped reading that at #1 when you said that Bridges can beat his man off the dribble. I knew I could disregard the whole piece as being written by someone who had probably seen Bridges play 2x this year. Anyone who watched Bridges play could see he had awful handles. I could count on one hand the amount of times I saw him beat someone off the dribble and I saw him play at least 15x this year.

The fact that you think he'll be a bust tells me all I need to know about your ability to project a player. His floor is not even a question.

There are different ways to beat an on the ball defender. He's going to bully his way to the rim, similar to the way Milsap does it now and how Ron Artest did it in his prime. With his ability to hit from range, players can't just lay off of him. He'll have a half a step, turn his shoulder into the defender, and then ride the player to the rim. That's actually the easiest part of his game to project--his ability to play bully ball.

Miles has two underrated skills--his balance and his ability to finish off of either hand. On offense, those attributes are going to enable him to transition and player much bigger (in terms of length) then most give him credit for.

[Stillwater]

with the way he changed his game significantly to show how versatile he is in year 2, I think he could become an all-star in the league but at worst is a high level starter longterm

and I've got him as most likely to bust from the lottery. One of us is gonna be WAY off.

The funny thing about this kid is his first season was more impressive at the 4 but proved he can play the 3 decent enough this season
to improve there if needed. Just another hybrid that is being slept on imo.

[HotelVitale]

I'm pro Miles. Think he would be a perfect fit for Philly if he reaches his ceiling and his floor is probably better then most who will be around that spot.

with the way he changed his game significantly to show how versatile he is in year 2, I think he could become an all-star in the league but at worst is a high level starter longterm

You all have to explain this. I'm not anti-Bridges and think he's being rated about right by most people (in that #11-17 range), but I have no idea how he's a 'high level starter' at worst. There are only about 80 'high-level starters' at any given time, so you're saying you think Miles Bridges will absolutely be one of the best 80 basketball players in the world soon--I'm not getting how the tape tells you that.

Here was my end of season write-up on him: 'he's a good versatile bball player, strong frame with solid hops too; he could definitely be a nice starter who can do a bit of everything if things work out well...but the baseline expectation should be that he's not quick or big enough to impose his will in the NBA and that as a result he'll probably never be more than a meh 3rd option. He just looks like he's in that in-between as a NCAA player and pro prospect: as we saw in college, he can create but in the NBA you'd pretty much always want someone else creating and have better options, he can shoot alright but you'd rather have someone else shoot most times, etc. He seems like a gamble to be that sort of versatile fill-in-gaps starter--he'd need to learn how to play very quickly and always make the right decision to get there--and it's tough to squint and see how he makes a leap above that.'

Tell me what I'm missing?