Mikal Bridges # 25 of the Phoenix Suns attempts a layup against Emmanuel Mudiay # 1 of the New York Knicks during the first quarter of the game at Madison Square Garden on December 17, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
For young NBA players who become great players, sometimes it’s an incremental improvement. That is what we are seeing with Deandre Ayton at the moment.
Sometimes it is more immediate and apparent. That is what we have seen with Devin Booker.
And sometimes it just clicks out of nowhere, like the player is going through a mental block and from there is going full speed.
That’s what Phoenix Suns fans hope is happening with Mikal Bridges in Orlando, as his aggressive scoring mentality outside of dribbling has transformed him into a whole new and confident player.
Bridges had 26 points in 27 minutes of a 117-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors, continuing his great career at Walt Disney World.
The wing’s eyes light up now as the teams defend him as if he were not a threat, with Marc Gasol switching to him here. He has shown a quick first step and his sleepy touch around the basket which has always been fantastic in the transition.
Bridges climbed onto the board multiple times at the beginning of the game, and that fully opened it up to shoot without hesitation. He developed a problem with Phoenix, but that will go away if he feels long enough.
That was the case on Tuesday, as he was 4-for-5 from a three-point range, and the impact both ways was immense.
In 78 minutes played over the three practice games, Bridges has scored 56 points total, which is 25.8 points for 36 minutes. This season, he’s averaging 11.5 points for 36 minutes.
It seems like he’s making a breakthrough. Bridges also had a similar breakdown on a minor scale in the last two months of the season, returning to the true type of glue that was at Villanova.
Despite all that, head coach Monty Williams won’t get too far ahead on his 23-year-old wing.
“I am careful with all those statements,” he said. “He is still a young player. He is playing with confidence and does many things that we value, but he knows he has a long way to go.
“I hope he continues to have the same focus and commitment to improve and he’s becoming a guy we trust to make plays on both ends of the floor.”
Ricky Rubio said the progress Bridges has made is evident and credited him for taking advantage of the “second offseason” created by the season suspension.
Bridges had one of those games that the box scored in fact They accurately represent their presence in the game, and the Suns played with the basketball brand they smoked the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
The Suns led with the most comfort for most of the game even though Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton had single digits. They can do it when they play together and other players like Bridges step forward, as most teams in Orlando are capable of doing it.
Cam Johnson had 19 points starting in place of the injured Dario Saric (ankle), while Ricky Rubio added 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The Suns shot 18 of 47 (38.3%) from a three-point range and had 22 steals.
After a bad performance in Sunday’s loss, rookie point guard Ty Jerome didn’t play in the first half. Newly signed Cameron Payne got the backup point guard to nod at him.
Those two would later play together in a four-guard lineup throughout the final quarter, as the Suns only had 11 healthy players available and Williams wanted to keep the minutes for the rotation players. Elie Okobo was part of that lineup in his first action since arriving in Orlando.
Ayton and Booker had disappointing performances for the second consecutive scrimmage, but they seem to focus more on the team elements of these scrimmages rather than focusing on their own individual games and it is paying off for the group.
They have a clear rush of momentum to get into the eight-game sowing portion that begins Friday, one they’ll need in that environment.
“I would love to say that we are at a certain level right now, but as I told the boys, we are going to play desperate teams for the next eight games,” Williams said. “So let’s find out exactly where we are.”
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