Phoenix Suns Forward Mikal Bridges Stands To Gain As Much As Anyone In NBA Restart

For players coached by Monty Williams, the way to know they’re on the right track is when Williams has to tamp down expectations publicly. The message is clear: This guy is getting a lot better, but let’s keep the noise out so he can keep it up. Already, it’s the story of Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges’ short time in Orlando for the NBA restart.

When the league went on hiatus on March 11, Bridges was one of the bright spots for Phoenix, coming into his own as a leader and unlocking the team’s small-ball identity. Hardly anything looks the same as it did back then, but Bridges picked up where he left off in March when the Suns took the court for three scrimmages at the Wide World of Sports complex this month.

Bridges capped off a monster scrimmage schedule with a 26-point, five-assist performance against the Raptors on Tuesday in which he also was the primary defender against Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, an All-Star starter this year who made a game-winning shot over Bridges as a rookie. It was after that matchup that Williams had to temper the celebrations, calling Bridges a great young player who puts in work and all the other niceties.

The coach plucked a constructive criticism of Bridges’ game, too, just to keep things in check. After a loss to Boston in which Bridges had three blocks, Williams noted he’s working with Bridges on not “gambling” too much defensively.

Plays like this stand out as an example of a player whose confidence and physical gifts give him the confidence to take risks, even if they’re not always what a coach wants to see: 

But it’s in Bridges’ DNA to play aggressively. Even Williams has said the team’s strengths are creating turnovers and turning defense into offense, an area where Bridges’ length and smarts are integral. Though the Suns’ schedule in Orlando is relatively smooth, all the lottery teams got left at home. To steal games against the league’ best during the eight seeding games, Bridges can’t afford to be messy.

One thing that will have to stay the same is Bridges’ approach as a shooter. After working over the course of the season — including during the hiatus — with assistant coach Darko Rajakovic, the knockdown touch Bridges had at Villanova returned. Bridges made seven of his 13 triples in the team’s scrimmages. As analyst David Nash noted in his newsletter, The Four Point Play, Bridges’ rediscovered accuracy from deep and a sense of purpose on offense can also help Bridges’ defense by making his matchup on the opposing team simply work harder over the course of a game.

Though he’s looked more like his college self on offense over the past few games between March and July, where Bridges truly provides value on a team with scoring studs Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton is shoring up the defense. Bridges’ length and versatility means Williams can trust him to guard anyone at any position on the opposing team, leaving far more lineup flexibility around him. While fellow lanky, athletic forward Kelly Oubre Jr. remains out rehabbing a torn meniscus, rookie Cameron Johnson filled in as the other starting wing in the Suns’ small starting unit in the team’s last scrimmage and played well.

That’s all possible because of Bridges. He’s smart enough to freelance and recover in plenty of time, juking in one direction before jumping in to turn the opponent ever in a flash. 

The 3-and-D mold is profoundly important in the NBA these days. The guys who can complement over-taxed stars on defense and make open shots on offense are vital to winning in the league. But increasingly, those players also need to have enough confidence to challenge defenses who lay off of them, and guard more than just the opponent’s best play-maker. Game plans are too complex to plug Bridges onto one guy and have him spot up in the corner.

Already one of the most talented defenders in the NBA, Bridges is filling in the gaps on all the other parts of the game that will allow him to flex his value and take the Suns to another level. Even his conservative coach can’t help but praise his growth, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand.

Said Williams recently: “I believe he’s going to be a guy that we can rely on night in and night out to play off Ricky and Book and D.A. and not just knock down shots, but have (confidence as a scorer) because he has knocked down shots.”