The Phoenix Suns have had quite the season.
Every starter aside Mikal Bridges has missed a handful of games (at least) due to injury. Phoenix has yet to deal Jae Crowder and as a result, the current stable of players must do their part until further help arrives.
With Devin Booker missing five games this month before being ruled out for the next four weeks (groin), many expected Bridges to be the man to step up and lead the way for Phoenix.
Yet the Suns have now lost their last four-of-five games, and Bridges has averaged just eleven points per night in that stretch.
Many believe Bridges shouldered some responsibility to take his game to the next level, which includes Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, who broke it down on his latest piece which found NBA winners and losers for the month of December:
Mikal Bridges Deemed December Loser by Bleacher Report
“On balance, Bridges’ 2022-23 performance has been commendable—borderline All-Star-worthy when accounting for his lockdown defense,” said Buckley.
“December has been rough, though. More for the Suns as a whole, but they needed Bridges to level up to cover for an injured Devin Booker, and he has instead backtracked in a bad way.
“He entered the month converting 51.8 percent of his field goals. In December, that connection rate has plummeted to 39.2. His assists are down (3.5 to 2.3), and his turnovers are up (1.1 to 1.6). The Suns have lost his team-high 477 minutes by 8.2 points per 100 possessions. His frustration even boiled over to an on-court spat with Deandre Ayton.
“It’s hard for any team to survive the loss of a superstar. It’s harder still for a secondary star to hold his own in the spotlight. This was Bridges’ chance to show how much his game has grown, but he’s looked more like a supporting actor whose ceiling stops shy of stardom.”
Other losers in the article were the Chicago Bulls, Rudy Gobert, Trae Young and Lakers guards not named Austin Reaves.
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