Meet your NEW Phoenix Suns
By Adam Maynes
Mikal Bridges
Two competitive years his senior, Mikal Bridges has stepped into the Phoenix Suns’ roster and done his rookie season what everyone thought Josh Jackson would do right away: insert himself into a log-term role in Phoenix with excellent 3-point shooting and a strong defensive mindset.
While Josh Jackson can produce the occasional highlight reel slam dunk, so too can former Slam Dunk Championship runner-up Derrick Jones Jr. – who does so regularly with the Miami Heat.
However, Mikal Bridges has taken up the mantle of two-way player that Josh Jackson was reputedly supposed to be the next great thing at.
While Jackson has a 112 Defensive Rating (which is average), Mikal Bridges only lags behind slightly at 113 (the lower the better).
But while Mikal Bridges has a 109 Offensive Rating (also still average), Josh Jackson is at a team worst 83.
Josh Jackson’s 29.1% 3-point shooting percentage is a decent improvement over last season when he shot 26.3% (and his shooting hitch has lessened some meaning that maybe another offseason of hard work could turn his outside shot into a legitimate threat), Bridges has stepped right in and on a very respectable 3.8 attempts per game is nailing 35.0% of his “super shots.”
As far as year-to-year growth goes, Josh Jackson still appears to have plenty of room to improve, but Bridges has shown more coming out of the gate than his predecessor, and at his rate, seems to have as equally as high a ceiling as Jackson, with a lot less time needed between his level of talent now, and his peak skills.