![]() The Hornets have a net rating of plus-12.6 in 190 minutes with Bridges at the 5.Ĭharlotte coach James Borrego can’t afford to keep him off the floor for long. ![]() He’s a good rebounder who isn’t afraid to mix it up inside and does a decent job of walling off the paint on drives. That left Bridges as the best option in the middle on many nights. Meanwhile, Washington had been out for most of the season with an elbow injury before coming back last week. Charlotte signed Mason Plumlee to be its starting center, but he’s a 31-year-old declining from a peak that wasn’t particularly high. He starts games as a wing stopper and often finishes them as a small-ball 5. Per NBA Advanced Stats, he has guarded everyone from Kevin Durant to Jayson Tatum, Julius Randle, Bradley Beal, and Damian Lillard this season. He’s gone from a guy who gets set up to one who creates his own shot and sets up other guys.īridges is doing all that while carrying a massive load on defense. Bridges hasn’t made just one jump this season. Typically, the more a player is asked to create for others, the more mistakes he makes. Those numbers rarely move in opposite directions. He has raised his assist percentage by almost 2 percentage points from last season while lowering his turnover percentage by almost 5. He can get his shot up from anywhere on the floor and read the defense when they send help. There’s more polish to his game than you might expect for someone with his physical tools. Bridges can power through defenders and he’s skilled enough to take advantage of the openings that creates. He often gives up height but it doesn’t matter. At 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, he’s bigger, stronger, and more athletic than most players he matches up with. Fouls are down this season, but Bridges draws so much contact in the lane that the refs have to call it.īridges looks like an NFL tight end who wandered onto the court after a weight-lifting session. His increased aggressiveness can be seen in his free throw attempts jumping from 1.7 per game to 4.0. 16 in 2-point percentage (54.1) among the 56 players taking at least nine 2-point shots per game. Once Bridges starts going downhill, he’s hard to stop. He’s made up the difference by almost doubling his number of drives per game. Bridges made a living in his first three seasons as a 3-and-D player, but he’s shooting much worse from 3 this season (32.7 percent) than last (40.1). The most encouraging part about his leap is that it’s not a hot shooting streak. This season, Bridges is taking seven more shots per game and has gone from no. Washington and shuffled roles on offense after the departure of Devonte’ Graham. He was extremely efficient (true shooting percentage of 62.5) in a smaller role (usage rate of 17.3) so Charlotte cleared out space for him to have a bigger one. He averaged nearly identical numbers in 19 games as a starter last season. He has made one of the biggest leaps in the NBA: What has changed in the first 23 games of this season is that Bridges looks like one, too. Bridges was a little behind him, moving into the starting lineup nearly 50 games in and slipping under the radar on a Hornets team with several other talented youngsters.Įveryone knew LaMelo would be a star. LaMelo became a starter after 20 games last season and won Rookie of the Year. They are capable of turning a game into a track meet in just a few minutes. The Hornets pair clicked almost instantly last season, coming off the bench together and running in transition. ![]() You are reminded of that when you watch them play.Īs fruitful partnerships go, LaMelo to Bridges (2.2 assists per game) ranks right behind Chris Paul to Devin Booker (2.3) and Draymond Green to Steph Curry (2.4). Every once in a while, they will get the crowd on their feet with a rim-rattling alley-oop. LaMelo will throw a baseball pass across the court to a streaking Bridges, or hit him cutting to the basket on a pick-and-roll or spotting up in the corner. ![]() Hornets guard LaMelo Ball usually finds Miles Bridges a few times per game. ![]()
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