Mikal Bridges Shines When Suns Need Him Most
Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges is known for a few things.
His persona on and off the court has helped mold him into a fan favorite, and for good reason. He's an extremely likeable person who plays the game well and serves as a good role model for any aspiring player to look up to.
His defense is considered some of the best in the league while his ability to stay healthy and available to his team (350+ games played in a row) is well respected, too.
Yet it's been his offense as of late that's helped the Suns push through their plague of injuries and ultimately keep their heads above water in the playoff picture.
Saturday night's win over the San Antonio Spurs saw Bridges score 25 points, the final of those coming in key moments down the stretch of overtime.
“I can hear him telling us that he wants the possession back, the same shot again. It’s just the confidence level, us playing that hard. Being with guys out, dudes stepping up. This confidence isn’t coming out of anywhere. It’s been there since the season started," Deandre Ayton said of Bridges.
"Mikal [Bridges] on his game, he’s pretty consistent, just working on his craft. Tonight, was the time for it to show and he took over the game and it made us comfortable.”
Bridges has now scored 20+ in his last seven-of-ten games, which has helped turn the tide in Phoenix. After winning just 2-of-14 games, the Suns have now won their last five-of-six largely thanks to Bridges' efforts on both ends of the court while guys such as Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Cam Johnson were forced out of action due to injuries.
“It’s big. With us being out for that period of time, it forced him to be more aggressive," Chris Paul said following the game.
"Now as I’m back, toward the end, Mikal [Bridges] came out and said, ‘C, give me the ball’ and I told him, ‘say less.’ Make or miss, I don’t think it’s about us having confidence. I think it’s about him having confidence in himself. That’s one of the biggest things for our team that’s going to help us go forward.
“I think we did well. We executed it, we ran the plays we wanted to, and Mikal was getting to the spots and had good looks. We just have to keep building, because it’s going to change from game to game.”
There's plenty of change in the NBA on a nightly basis, but even the consistency of Bridges has shown it can only get stronger on the offensive end. The Suns are starting to get their swagger back.
