Watching the Twins succeed from afar.....

Hoop Head

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Hoop Head, this post is petty.

Brooklyn vs here, Mikal is averaging 18.2 vs 13.6 fga/g. He is averaging 6.6 vs 4.7 3pa/g, and yes, he is averaging 6.1 vs 2.8 fta/g.

But what's really remarkable are the moves he is employing to get these shots off and the efficiency with which he is making them.

To imply the only difference between his scoring in Phoenix and his scoring in Brooklyn are the freethrows is dishonest.

Was it a little petty? Perhaps. I also think it's petty to stick so firmly to an arbitrary number like 30 pts a game and get hung up on him exceeding that number more in Brooklyn when he was averaging in the mid 20's before he was traded.

So he is getting more shots there that he wouldn't get here. He's also getting more FT's so you seem to know where he's making up the scoring difference but are still clinging to arbitrary round numbers and using those to say he was misused or underutilized here. He's playing a different role. We've all said that and agree. He wasn't going to become our #1 or #2 ball handler so long as Booker and Paul are here. He has more freedom in Brooklyn. I don't get what the hang up is.
 

Mainstreet

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Mikal Bridges was on his way up whether the Suns traded him or not.

There is no reason for anyone to minimize his continued accomplishments with the Nets.

He is simply growing into the player we all wanted him to be.

I think the same applies to Cam Johnson except he has a lower upside.
 

AzStevenCal

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This whole Bridges thing is reminding me of that hot ex girlfriend situation…
Maybe for some but many of us knew he was special before we traded him. Maybe not quite this special but I wasn't the only one that hated the idea of trading him. And I still hate it, but not any more than I did when it happened. I hope he has a great career and that the blow is softened for us by KD playing superstar basketball for us for 3 plus years.
 

Superbone

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Maybe for some but many of us knew he was special before we traded him. Maybe not quite this special but I wasn't the only one that hated the idea of trading him. And I still hate it, but not any more than I did when it happened. I hope he has a great career and that the blow is softened for us by KD playing superstar basketball for us for 3 plus years.
The hot ex-girlfriend is no different. You knew she was that special at the time too and you hated the idea of losing her. (I imagine anyways. :))
 

Hoop Head

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After 22 games, he is averaging over 27 points on 50/40/90 shooting.

I was looking at his splits this year and he averages 5 more points in wins than losses and most surprising was he shoots almost 10% better from 3 in wins, .449 in wins and .358 in losses. We've all theorized what's caused the light to come on for him and I think now that we have a larger sample size it's that when he's on, the team wins, and he's in a position now where the teams success largely rides on him being on. His usage rate is up over 10% also, at 29.3% and he was at 19.8% here this season. So they're definitely running things through him more.

Here's a link for his splits for anyone interested....
 

Covert Rain

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I was looking at his splits this year and he averages 5 more points in wins than losses and most surprising was he shoots almost 10% better from 3 in wins, .449 in wins and .358 in losses. We've all theorized what's caused the light to come on for him and I think now that we have a larger sample size it's that when he's on, the team wins, and he's in a position now where the teams success largely rides on him being on. His usage rate is up over 10% also, at 29.3% and he was at 19.8% here this season. So they're definitely running things through him more.

Here's a link for his splits for anyone interested....
Which should be a surprise and makes sense because that is a pretty thin roster.
 

JCSunsfan

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There was nothing stopping Mikal from defending any number of positions while he took on a more dynamic offensive role here. He's doing this in Brooklyn.

I do not buy that he was ascending here, but was not yet capable of what he achieved merely 3 games into his Brooklyn career. What I buy is that he was not being utilized to the extent of his capabilities here.
He has said plainly that his mentality changed once he went to Brooklyn (actually some weeks before). In his mind, he was playing a complementary role, but when he got to Brooklyn, he looked around and realized he had to be the guy.

Man. Why do people always have to have someone to blame? Good on Mikal. He was great here too.
 

Proximo

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However, this is not the case. The Suns dumped the hot girlfriend for an older, hot supermodel.
Yeah basically.

I wouldn't have done the deal before, and today I really wouldn't do the deal.

But it is what it is.
 

Proximo

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I guess you gotta tip your cap to Brooklyn for fleecing the Suns.

Stupid teams do stupid things.
They didn't fleece the Suns. They were going to get a similar package elsewhere.

Premium stuff is often overpriced, that's just the way it is.

If you want to try and shortcut the process of building your team through development you take enormous risk. That's where we are. I sure hope it ends up working out, then we won't have to revisit this trade for then next 20 years constantly.
 

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