Sports Weekly all-media reporter Chaifu
Bridges averaged 21.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, each of which was a career high. The Bridges is the one who failed to secure an early contract extension this summer, the Hornets' "little bridge" Miles Bridges. In contrast, Mikael Bridges, who has just earned 90 million fat from the Suns for 4 years, is a bit bleak, with 14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists so far in the season, maintaining the original level and not breaking out significantly.
But on closer inspection, the performance of the "bridge" is not bad at all. His efficiency remains elite, with a true shooting percentage of 64.4%. Yesterday's game against the Lone Rangers, he scored 19 points on all seven shots, including three three-pointers, making Bridges the first player in team history to do so except for Barbosa. When Booker and Paul are holding up the offensive responsibility of the backcourt, Bridges' role is to seize opportunities and defend well. And when it comes to defense, the real value of the Bridge is reflected, and he has become one of the best wing defenders in the league today.
In the face of a lone ranger without Doncic, Bridges has the meaning of "oversized and underused". In his defensive round, Lone Ranger guard Brunson shot just 1 of 6, while Porzingis' misalignment against Bridges was just 3 of 7. It's all a glimpse of Bridges' defensive prowess, who not only has excellent defensive ability, but also can stare at multiple positions.
Even if the NBA adjusts the scale of blowing penalties to make defense more in people's field of vision, the league is still offensive-oriented, and people are more accustomed to focusing on amazing offensive data. Defense is easy to overlook, so Bridges' value is hidden in the corner. In fact, so far this season, only 2 players have been able to shoot more than 60% of their true shooting rates, while the 1v1 defense limits the opponent's shooting rate to less than 40%: one is Bridges, and the other is the three-time best defensive player Rudy Gobert.
Since the beginning of the season, when it comes to the competition for the best defensive player, people will mention the old faces of Gobert and "Dream" Green, but Bridges' performance should never be left behind.
'I don't care if Mikaal plays next time, you'd better put him in the best defensive squad this year. Suns chief Chris Paul said after beating the Lone Ranger, "Every night, every night, everybody, he did everything, everything. ”
In fact, Bridges' failure to be selected for last season's best defensive team has made many people complain for him, and his statistics on the defensive end are better than Leonard's, but people are too impressed with Leonard's top defense. So far in the new season, Bridges' defensive impact has been even more amazing. Although the steal block data is not prominent, Bridges' defensive performance against position is very exaggerated.
Under his alignment defense, opponents have not shot high in the past four seasons, and this year they have come to a very amazing state, when Bridges is within 3 feet of himself interfering, the shooting rate of offensive players is less than 40%.
2018-19: 47.9%
2019-20: 45.8%
2020-21: 48.4%
2021-22: 39.2%
And don't forget, since landing in the NBA League, Bridges has always been put in to defend against the top attacker on the outside, which makes him perform better than the data looks.
'I'm very excited about his performance because I've also defended against the best players in the last few years and I know what it's like. Paul said, "Chasing Curry, opposing Harden, defending Irving, Wei Shao, all of these things I have experienced. This way of dealing with the game is different, and many people come to the court just thinking about how many shots they have to shoot and how many points they will get. And when you start thinking, 'What can I do to make it harder for my opponents,' it's a completely different attitude to the game. Obviously, he is the best in this regard. ”
In the past 10 years, only three non-center players have won the best defensive player: Alphabet Brother in 2019-20, Green in 2016-17 and Leonard in 2014-16. Among them, only Leonard can be called an outside, and Alphabet Brother and Green have played centers in more than 20% of their DPOY seasons. If divided by the same position, only Ron Artest of the 2003-04 season and the small card just mentioned are the flanks among the best defensive players of the new century.
If Bridges can extend his current performance until the end of the season, he will almost certainly be a member of the first team of the best defensive team, and he also has the capital to compete for DPOY. As long as the Suns' record is stable and their defensive performance remains first in the league, Bridges' value will eventually be discovered.
Source: Sports Weekly All Media