Last year, I viewed the “battle of the Bridges” (Mikal Bridges vs. Miles Bridges) to be pretty much a wash. Both of them were playing a medium-sized role as rookies on not-very-good teams, and both of them did a decent job of being productive right away in the NBA.
However, Miles has pulled away from Mikal this season and I’m not sure it’s Mikal’s fault. You see, the Hornets are total poo-poo, and they’re looking for any player on the roster that they could potentially build around. Miles is one of those players with the potential to be a core piece going forward, so they have incentive to give him a lot of minutes and a lot of freedom. Mikal, meanwhile, is stuck on a surprisingly-competitive Suns team that acquired a bunch of players that will help them maybe make the playoffs (maybe). His role this year is considerably smaller than it was last season.
If their teams and situations were switched, I think Mikal would definitely be the one showing the more so-called “upside”. Mikal and Miles are close enough in skill that whoever gets a more favorable role on their team is the one that’s going to look like the better player.
The Battle of the Bridges is something that we’re going to be keeping an eye on for at least the next half-decade or so. Not a very close eye, mind you, because neither player really captures my attention that strongly, but an eye nonetheless.