Miles Bridges at the 4 in the NBA?
Mike Schmitz of ESPN says Bridges is one of five potential beakout players in the NBA with the reasoning being they were misused in college. Now, the thought of Izzo not maximizing the potential of elite recruits wouldn't surprise anyone here but...Bridges as a four in the NBA? I think he'd get killed on the defensive end.
Anyway, here's the logic:
Miles Bridges | Michigan State | F | Age: 20.1
Bridges didn't quite make the statistical jump most had expected after he elected to spurn a 2017 lottery selection to return for his sophomore season. But the similar level of productivity was more a product of how he was used than anything, with head coach Tom Izzo regularly forcing him into the small forward spot with offensive rebounder Nick Ward at the 5 and modern center Jaren Jackson Jr. at the 4.
This was clearly an inopportune situation for Bridges, who is much more interesting as a small-ball 4 who can use his explosiveness and versatility in space. You can see the lack of spacing here, and the fact that Bridges attempted 98 pull-up jumpers in 37 games speaks to how he was used with the Spartans -- as a primary shot-creating wing with minimal room to operate:
How will it change in the NBA?
Expect Bridges to look much more comfortable playing the 4 with NBA spacing, potentially unlocking some passing ability that he showed flashes of at Michigan State. He played far too much catch-and-hold basketball in college and figures to spend much more of his time hammering home lobs in transition, knocking down spot-up jumpers after popping to space and attacking on the catch against a scrambling defense. Bridges can play some pick-and-roll, but it's likely to come as a mismatch small-ball 4 to force switches.
Although he did slim down to 220 pounds at the combine, Bridges' offensive versatility along with his ability to defend both big wings and small-ball forwards thanks to his frame and competitiveness makes him an intriguing two-way option in the mid-to-late lottery. While maybe never a first or second option, Bridges figures to look better offensively in the NBA than he did with the Spartans.
so a guy who every expert expects to go 9-11, you say will be in the D league after a year. Gore shoud stop his GM search now.
wingspan is kind of short for his height. Draymond's wingspan is 7' which is long for his size at allegeately 6'7". Draymond can bang down low against the C and defend the permieter.
Bridges is a small ball 4 but isn't the same type of player that Draymond is
They shouldn't need a lot of non-functioning HTML either, but it is 2018 and here we are.
OP, you might want to get all that out of there to clean it up a bit.
Tried to delete the extraneous stuff but it is resistant.
The is nuts if true
Kevin Durant couldn't bench 185 at the NBA combine 1 time. He has still become an effective NBA player.
High-level basketball players in general can't bench a ton of weight because their arms are extremely long relative to their torso, especially in the early adult ages (18-21).
Izzo was putting his best players out of position because he overrecruited 4s and 5s. As he does.
Seriously. Late in the season MSU started toying with the occasional small lineup keyed by JJJ, and I rememberr Michigan basketball media guys talking about how devastating it would be when it was (surely, inevitably, right?) unleashed in the postseason.
Instead he unleashed Ben Carter.
Izzo literally seemed unaware of what kind of team he could have fielded. Perhaps he was blinded by all the mediocre size on one side of the bench.
The few times I saw him at the top of the key with the ball while covered by an opposing team's center he was almost unguardable. His ability to hit the 3 and put the ball on the floor at 6'11" is pretty devastating.
Think of what Beilein would have done with him
Izzo was putting his best players out of position because he overrecruited 4s and 5s. As he does.
And you could have chosen not to click on it.
And you could have chosen not to be a douche, too but noooo!
nice post
/s
Delete this fucking shit.
What are you trying to say?
I think we all knew what he meant by it and no one took exception to it but you. Durant is a great player that can't bench press much weight. He made his point very clearly - nothing hilarious about it.
He was the perfect college 4(which Izzo misused) , but I agree that I think he is too small for the NBA 4. If a team wants to really go small ball they could try it out, but I think he would get wrecked on defense and on the boards. I also think he's not quick enough to be at the 3 position. His first step on both defense and offense was too slow in college, that will only be even more dramatic in the NBA. He really is a tweener. With that said, I do think he could be a pretty good bench player for years in the NBA, I just never see him being elite.
This topic is a "bridge" to nowhere.