3 Bright Spots for Phoenix Suns in First Game without Chris Paul

Phoenix Suns Takeaways: Mikal Bridges’s transition will be key going forward

Mikal Bridges’s offensive improvement was a huge factor as well.

The Warden was confident in himself last night, specifically his ability in the open court, which gives the Phoenix offense an extra dimension.

Monty Williams has decided to play faster this year, with Phoenix’s pace up to 100.07 this year compared to 98.0 from the last. This change in strategy allows Bridges to use his freakish length and athleticism to get easy attempts at the rim.

Last night, Bridges stayed in attack mode and got out on the break whenever he had the chance. In the first quarter, he got an open layup off a turnover and that was only a precursor to everything else would go on to do in the game.

A minute later, he added another layup in transition thanks to a masterful defensive play by Ayton, and blocked shot, and pinpoint pass from Jae Crowder.

Bridges needs to maintain this mentality for the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs. The Suns put together a fantastic campaign last year with a win percentage of .708,, but this season their win percentage has jumped to .831. The big difference, in my opinion, is the faster pace.

The biggest beneficiary of that increased pace has been and should continue to be Mikal Bridges.