Watching the Twins succeed from afar.....

[AzStevenCal]

To be fair we where laughed out of this place

I still don't like the idea of using Booker as a point guard. For a shooting guard, he has good PG skills but for a PG, he'd be below average IMO. And I wouldn't turn a great shooting guard into a mediocre PG. But I think too much is made of positions. A 3 guard trio of a younger CP type plus Booker and Mikal would have been nice to see.

 

[GatorAZ]

Not a great night for Mikal but still goes 7-8 from the line. He’s averaging more FTA’s with Brooklyn than Book is this season. Sample size but still.

 

[SirStefan32]

I watched last night's game against the Cavs, and it demonstrated something I have not been able to properly articulate when talking about Bridges/ Durant trade. Bridges scores 30 points before the fourth quarter. Cavs put pressure on him, he scored two points in the fourth while turning the ball over on last two possessions. He is developing rapidly, but this game was a good example of him not being quite ready. Suns might not win it all this year, but they wouldn't be able to had the trade not happened. With KD, you throw him the ball in crunch time and he'll make something happen. That;s something Bridges doesn't have in his arsenal, at least right now.

All that said, he was playing the Booker role in the first three quarters really well. His handles are improving and he is initiating the offense really well.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

I watched last night's game against the Cavs, and it demonstrated something I have not been able to properly articulate when talking about Bridges/ Durant trade. Bridges scores 30 points before the fourth quarter. Cavs put pressure on him, he scored two points in the fourth while turning the ball over on last two possessions. He is developing rapidly, but this game was a good example of him not being quite ready. Suns might not win it all this year, but they wouldn't be able to had the trade not happened. With KD, you throw him the ball in crunch time and he'll make something happen. That;s something Bridges doesn't have in his arsenal, at least right now.

All that said, he was playing the Booker role in the first three quarters really well. His handles are improving and he is initiating the offense really well.

I agree with your assessment. He's not quite there in being able to personally dismantle a team in crunch time. Him playing the Booker role though is nothing short of astonishing. I did not know he had that capability before the trade. I'm still astonished he managed to fix the hitch in his shot from his rookie year. Who knows how far this man can develop his game.

 

[Mainstreet]

Huge win by the Nets at Miami. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson had 27 and 23 points respectively,

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[cheesebeef]

Huge win by the Nets at Miami. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson had 27 and 23 points respectively,

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Huge win… they just lost SIX in a row. Crazy you never posted during that streak.

 

[Hoop Head]

Huge win… they just lost SIX in a row. Crazy you never posted during that streak.

I didn't realize you're the gatekeeper for the Twins fan club now. Glad to know you found time to do that while also arranging the Suns title parade in June.

 

[Mainstreet]

I didn't realize you're the gatekeeper for the Twins fan club now. Glad to know you found time to do that while also arranging the Suns title parade in June.

Yeah. I've been following the twins all along.

The only reason I decided to mention it tonight is that I noticed it was a huge game for the Nets and took notice.

 

[BirdGangThing]

twins doing good is a good thing - admiring them from afar is awesome blossoms

to still say they still aint good is rubbish

to say we should've kept them is rubbish

 

[Mainstreet]

twins doing good is a good thing - admiring them from afar is awesome blossoms

to still say they still aint good is rubbish

to say we should've kept them is rubbish

I cherish the Suns but there can be more than one path to a destination.

However, we are all still Suns fans at the end of the day.

 

[Hoop Head]

twins doing good is a good thing - admiring them from afar is awesome blossoms

to still say they still aint good is rubbish

to say we should've kept them is rubbish

I disagree with that part. We should not have parted with both in addition to 4 1/2 picks. I've said my piece on that and I try not to bring it up unless someone else makes a claim like you just did. It's been discussed here ad nauseam.

I don't see why someone can't make a positive post specifically about their recent play that doesn't mention the trade or the Suns in a thread about their continuing careers without someone feeling the need to chime in to try and say something negative, be it about the Twins or the poster.

 

[BirdGangThing]

I disagree with that part. We should not have parted with both in addition to 4 1/2 picks. I've said my piece on that and I try not to bring it up unless someone else makes a claim like you just did. It's been discussed here ad nauseam.

I don't see why someone can't make a positive post specifically about their recent play that doesn't mention the trade or the Suns in a thread about their continuing careers without someone feeling the need to chime in to try and say something negative, be it about the Twins or the poster.

I can respect that opinion and I got both jerseys to prove it. Recently sealed my (now NDS) Bridges Valley jersey in a fancy garment bag that can survive the apocalypse

 

[GatorAZ]

Mikal with a career high 10 MADE free throws. Also it’s absolutely nuts that Ben Simmons in unplayable while making nearly $40m a year. What thievery that was by Morey.

 

[Mainstreet]

Mikal with a career high 10 MADE free throws. Also it’s absolutely nuts that Ben Simmons in unplayable while making nearly $40m a year. What thievery that was by Morey.

Kellan Olson posted a tweet about Bridges scoring with the Nets. I've mostly been following the box scores.

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[Covert Rain]

I love all the backdoor criticism of Bridges just because his team doesn't have a great win record with him. It wasn't too long ago our star Book was putting up great numbers and it looked "empty" as hell too.

Let me repeat. Playing for that dumpster fire of an organization TAKES NOTHING AWAY from what he is doing. If you don't think he is playing at another level right now you are not paying attention.

 

[GatorAZ]

44 piece in a loss. Calm down Mikal.

 

[AzStevenCal]

44 piece in a loss. Calm down Mikal.

Yeah but the two guys they got from Dallas seem intent on offsetting Bridges as they went 1 for 18 in this game.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

I love all the backdoor criticism of Bridges just because his team doesn't have a great win record with him. It wasn't too long ago our star Book was putting up great numbers and it looked "empty" as hell too.

Let me repeat. Playing for that dumpster fire of an organization TAKES NOTHING AWAY from what he is doing. If you don't think he is playing at another level right now you are not paying attention.

Averaging 26.8 PPG on 50/40/90 splits in the 20 games with the Nets.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

Seriously wtf. Every 30 and 40 burger that Mikal drops is pissing me off more and more. How the F did we under utilize him so bad? I'm seeing him do things he never even attempted here. Why did we not use that? You can't tell me we couldn't have used that when Booker was injured this year. We saw glimpses but he obviously had the ability for way more. He didn't just gain it as soon as he got to Brooklyn. Wtf.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Seriously wtf. Every 30 and 40 burger that Mikal drops is pissing me off more and more. How the F did we under utilize him so bad? I'm seeing him do things he never even attempted here. Why did we not use that? You can't tell me we couldn't have used that when Booker was injured this year. We saw glimpses but he obviously had the ability for way more. He didn't just gain it as soon as he got to Brooklyn. Wtf.

He was showing some of this (minus the FTA's) at the end here. I think he averaged just under 24 a game his last 13 Suns games. Also, last year he injured his hand (thumb?) which brought his shooting down quite a bit for awhile. This year, he reportedly hyper-extended his knee in the last game of November or the first game of December and for about 6 weeks after that he struggled offensively and was much less effective on defense during that period. But his confidence has soared in Brooklyn, I assume because there's a different kind of pressure on him there (fewer expectations maybe?).

 

[Covert Rain]

Seriously wtf. Every 30 and 40 burger that Mikal drops is pissing me off more and more. How the F did we under utilize him so bad? I'm seeing him do things he never even attempted here. Why did we not use that? You can't tell me we couldn't have used that when Booker was injured this year. We saw glimpses but he obviously had the ability for way more. He didn't just gain it as soon as he got to Brooklyn. Wtf.

There are only so many balls to go around. Booker, Ayton, CP3 and open shooters?! Bridges was never going to get primary scorer opportunity here.

Selfishly I wish we had a way to keep him. Having said that it’s probably the best thing that could have ever happened to his career.

 

[GatorAZ]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Brooklyn goes after Lillard with the Suns/Mavs picks this summer. They have the complimentary players to put around a superstar.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

There are only so many balls to go around. Booker, Ayton, CP3 and open shooters?! Bridges was never going to get primary scorer opportunity here.

Selfishly I wish we had a way to keep him. Having said that it’s probably the best thing that could have ever happened to his career.

I did mention when Booker was injured this year, but I dont buy this argument anyway. CP3 hasn't wanted to shoot all season. This team doesn't go out of its way to feed Ayton The whole squad was pretty much a hospital unit this year except for mikal.

So why did we not see his capability maximized here like it's being maximized in Brooklyn? He gets off the plane and suddenly hes capable of initiating the offense, attacking the defense at all three levels, generating double digit free throw attempts, and putting up Booker numbers on even better efficiency? I've never been a Monty head hunter, but this is the most damning exhibit against him imo.

 

[Hoop Head]

I did mention when Booker was injured this year, but I dont buy this argument anyway. CP3 hasn't wanted to shoot all season. This team doesn't go out of its way to feed Ayton The whole squad was pretty much a hospital unit this year except for mikal.

So why did we not see his capability maximized here like it's being maximized in Brooklyn? He gets off the plane and suddenly hes capable of initiating the offense, attacking the defense at all three levels, generating double digit free throw attempts, and putting up Booker numbers on even better efficiency? I've never been a Monty head hunter, but this is the most damning exhibit against him imo.

He's playing SG in Brooklyn while here he was a secondary wing who didn't handle the ball much or have plays run for him.

I think Monty could have experimented a little more with Mikal but we didn't have the personnel to slide him down a position as we were usually playing without a PF already and we have a glut of guards. The role Mikal is playing now in Brooklyn isn't that different than what Cam Thomas was playing before Mikal arrived as they needed a SG all season, as that's the offense Jacques Vaughn runs. So plugging Mikal in there and seeing him thrive isn't that out of sorts.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

He's playing SG in Brooklyn while here he was a secondary wing who didn't handle the ball much or have plays run for him.

I think Monty could have experimented a little more with Mikal but we didn't have the personnel to slide him down a position as we were usually playing without a PF already and we have a glut of guards. The role Mikal is playing now in Brooklyn isn't that different than what Cam Thomas was playing before Mikal arrived as they needed a SG all season, as that's the offense Jacques Vaughn runs. So plugging Mikal in there and seeing him thrive isn't that out of sorts.

What glut of guards have we had this year? Booker, Paul, and Shamet have all missed significant time. We had to call up Saban Lee at one point and plug him in as a starter. You're telling me Monty couldn't have utilized Mikal at guard while we were pulling in guards from the g league......a position Mikal appears to be excelling at near an all-nba level?