Suns forward Mikal Bridges has stepped up as a the team’s key secondary scorer behind All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker, per Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports.
With starting Phoenix point guard Chris Paul having taken more of a backseat offensively this year, Bridges has been scoring more than ever. The 2022 All-Defensive Teamer is averaging a career-high 16.4 PPG on a .591/.464/.886 slash line, along with 5.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.1 SPG and 1.1 BPG.
So far, that jump in production has paid off for Phoenix, currently the early No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with an 8-3 record thus far this year.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- The Suns were dealt a major lineup blow when starting power forward Cameron Johnson had to go under the knife for a torn meniscus. Head coach Monty Williams isn’t ready to commit to a specific recovery timeline for Johnson, but said the way the tear was treated should result in a quicker return, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “One of the options was that he could’ve had a (meniscus) repair and that would’ve been a longer timeline for sure,” Williams said. “So we’re grateful it wasn’t worse. We’re grateful he got great care and we’re not sure when he’s going to come back, but we’re grateful for the outcome.”
- Clippers All-Star forward Paul George and Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James have enjoyed one of the most endearing on-court rivalries of either player’s career, across their various teams over the years. Brian Windhorst of ESPN takes a fascinating look at the two stars’ intertwined NBA runs. Windhorst reminds us that both players had several near-misses as teammates, alternately with the Cavaliers and Lakers, from 2017-19.
- Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has stated that reserve shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo is on track to return to the floor Friday, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). Kerr adds that DiVincenzo participated in a Wednesday scrimmage and Thursday practice without any setbacks to the hamstring injury that has sidelined him for the team’s last eight games. Since signing with Golden State this summer, DiVincenzo has only been healthy for three contests. In 14 MPG, the 6’4″ swingman is averaging 5.0 PPG on .455/.333/.750 shooting splits and one assist.
Jan 15 ———
Ayton and Saric to Knicks ……..
Randle, Mitch, three #1 picks, two 2nd rd picks to Suns ……..
The Knicks are that close? It sounds like a win for the Suns.
Yeah, agree… why they would send three 1# picks for Ayton when they were hesitant to make a move for Donovan, who is much better than Ayton.
Ayton can’t be traded without his permission before July 16th.
Divincenzo has a lot to digest. He can almost singlehandedly appease Warriors fans, and be the savior of their season. I think he has the ability to reasonably fill the GPII hole, and put the Warriors back in contention. Lot of pressure on a young guy in a pivotal career transisition season. He always plays hard, I wish him the best
Donte is quite a bit different from Gary Payton.
Donte can do many things on the court very well. He can run the point and has good handles, vision, not turnover prone and can shoot it. He plays pretty good defense because of his desire and quickness and youth. He’s just a good player.
Gary Payton on the other hand didn’t do a lot of the things necessary for an NBA player to succeed. He developed that corner three but really wasn’t much of a shooter, scorer, ball Handler or offensive threat to create a shot on his own or for his teammates.
But what he did have was out of this world athleticism, quickness, strength, and the desire to be a defensive stopper. He could leap through the roof and Rebound with forwards.
Definitely a guy you bring in off the Bench to disrupt the game and change the pace or widen the gap if your team is ahead. Two totally different players in my opinion.
Yea GP2 is a plus/minus god. And also a very good back door cutter. And you start him for specific matchups against teams with great guards.
Bottom line is that he’s got to stay healthy.