Phoenix Suns SF Mikal Bridges: The Fourth Tier
Bridges fails to match the scoring numbers posted by this crew as well, but he stands relatively close, and at this point, his all-league defense outweighs the difference. Clocking in at toward this tier’s top, Bridges belongs here, sitting slightly behind Gordon Hayward, but ahead Michael Porter Jr. and Andrew Wiggins.
Top Passing Lane Defense rating percentiles among players in the Wing Stopper defensive role:
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) June 4, 2020
DeAndre Bembry: 96%
Ben Simmons: 95%
Kawhi Leonard: 95%
Jimmy Butler: 93%
Kent Bazemore: 93%
Mikal Bridges: 92%
Trevor Ariza: 91%
Paul George: 91%
Danny Green: 89%
Maurice Harkless: 88%
This ranks Bridges as the NBA’s 13th best small forward, not bad for a three-year guy running as a team’s fourth option at the offensive end.
For Bridges to climb this ladder though, his scoring obviously needs to improve. Luckily for him, he remains arguably the most efficient player on his team. Last year, he shot 54.3 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from three. That allowed him to cultivate a team-high 66.7 true shooting percentage.
With those numbers acknowledged, Bridges clearly knows how to attack wisely with the ball, he just needs to play more aggressively. No player ranked above Bridges averaged less than 15.0 field goal attempts per game last season, and Bridges averaged just 9.3.
His path of ascension is clearly visible, and should he journey down it, he’ll start to hear his name thrown around just as often as Booker’s and Ayton’s.