by Ryan Mercier
His arms are approximately 900 feet long. He shoots a nice 3-ball. Mikal Bridges brings it on defense and provides legitimate help on the offensive side. Looking across the court to the Phoenix Suns second round opponent in the Denver Nuggets, here’s a simple question. For the next ten years, what player would every GM choose to have, Bridges or Michael Porter Jr.?
The Suns have a legend in Chris Paul, a bonafide star in Devin Booker, and former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton who’s playing extremely well in the playoffs. On a team like that, Bridges does not come close to being the top option on offense. What if he had been drafted by a team like Cleveland or Detroit? Somewhere where there is no clearcut hierarchy of scoring it’s conceivable he could average 20 points per game. Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo from The Ringer have touched on this point that in the right situation, the NBA is loaded with players who could average 20+.
This is not an article to proclaim the ex-Villanova champion needs more touches over Paul and Booker but rather to point out his trajectory as an NBA player might be viewed differently on a worse team. His role is perfect on Phoenix, a team with legitimate title hopes. Take the open shots, create turnovers with his length, and continue to make the little winning plays.
It’s his ability to take over a playoff game for a stretch, though, that makes the question of him versus MPJ a fun one. How does that project out for his future? After all, Bridges was selected four spots higher in the NBA Draft when each player came out the same year. Injuries, of course, played a huge factor in Porter Jr. not going much, much higher and health must also come into consideration for this imaginary GM survey.
Mikal Bridges has increased his ppg, overall shooting percentage, and 3-point shooting each season. Looking at last year to this year, those all also improved on a fairly significant increase in shooting attempts. When you add in his tremendous defense, his ceiling is exciting. He will play a winning role on teams for a long, long time in the league but could Bridges become a star?
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