Should the Philadelphia 76ers target Mikal Bridges with the 10th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft?
The below quote is from Kyle Boone’s article reporting that Mikal Bridges declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, and is a prefect explanation of his strengths.
"“Bridges, a two-time national champion at Villanova, is projected as a lottery pick who, on paper, will fit seamlessly in the modern NBA. With his ability to hit [sic] 3-pointers at an elite clip (43.5 percent last season) and lock down team’s best defenders, he’s a potential plug-and-play two-way player at the next level who stands at a stout 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan.“"
Averaging 17.7 points, 1.9 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers while playing 32.1 minutes per game and making 43.5 percent of his shots from behind the three-point line and 51.4 percent overall, Mikal Bridges does have the stats to be selected in the lottery despite being 21 years old. But his age and development is still an issue, and one the Philadelphia 76ers have to take account of if Lonnie Walker or Miles Bridges is still on the board.
Mikal Bridges had a poor freshman season for a player that will be drafted in the lottery. He averaged 8.4 points, 0.9 assists, and 3.2 rebounds while playing 20.3 minutes per game and making 29.9 percent of his shots from behind the three-point line and 52.1 percent of his shots overall.
Mikal Bridges improved during his sophomore season when he averaged 9.8 points, 2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 0.9 blocks, and 1.3 turnovers while playing 29.8 minutes per game and making 39.3 percent of his shots from behind the three-point line and 54.9 percent of his shots overall, but only showed flashes of the player he is today.
While his huge jump in production is impressive, there are several examples of older college players who became great later in their college careers but become busts in the NBA.
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Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette averaged 28.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game while making 39.6 percent of his shots from the three-point line during his senior season, after only averaging 7.0 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 rebounds per game while making 33.6 percent of his three-pointers during his freshman season.
He was drafted with the 10th pick in the 2011 draft, and was a bust that averaged 6.0 points, 1.4 assists, and 1.0 rebound while making 38.1 percent of his shots from the three-point line in five NBA season.
More recently, the sixth pick of the 2016 draft Buddy Hield has shown to not be a great NBA player despite improving drastically after spending years at Oklahoma. After averaging 7.8 points, 1.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game while making 23.8 percent of his three-pointers during his freshman season, his average jumped to 25.0 points, 2.0 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game while making 45.7 percent of his three-pointers during his senior season.
Hield has already been traded once during his two seasons in the NBA, and is averaging 13.0 points, 1.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while making 41.2 percent of three-points, which is good enough to keep him from being a bust, but it doesn’t show the star potential his senior year suggested.
Mikal Bridges doesn’t need star potential to be a good pick for the Sixers, because his ability to catch-and-shoot from anywhere on the court and play elite team defense will help them a lot. While I don’t see Mikal Bridges’ shooting to be better than Miles Bridges or Lonnie Walker’s, he is clearly the best defender of the three.
There are many NBA veterans that lack the defensive awareness that Mikal Bridges already has. He makes perfect switches when deciding who to defend on pick-and-rolls and uses he length to get deflections and steals in a way that reminds me of Robert Covington.
If the Sixers do manage to sign Paul George or LeBron James, Mikal Bridges is the rookie they would prefer to have as a teammate.
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Mikal Bridges will be a good role player and hopefully a starter. While I would select Lonnie Walker over Mikal Bridges due to Walker having more potential, I would take Mikal Bridges over Miles Bridges and Sixers fans should be happy if Mikal Bridges is their selection.