To this point, Mikal Bridges has not been shooting very well in The Bubb. Before this game, he was at just under 40 percent from the field and 22 percent from three. But, as Suns fans will happily tell you, what he does on offense doesn’t really matter because he’s the best defender in the league by a mile and the only people who don’t think that are people who don’t watch Suns games (which is almost everybody, to be fair).
As a Bucks fan, I can counter their arguments by simply replacing “Mikal Bridges” with “Donte DiVincenzo”, but no other fanbases can perform such a counter. That’s because Bridges and DiVincenzo are tied for being the best defender in the league, and it isn’t really close.
The Suns need defense more than offense, anyway. If they ever decided that they weren’t scoring enough points, you know what they would do? Just give the ball to Devin Booker, and tell him to score 70. Easy. But if they need more defense, they can’t go to Booker. They have to go to Bridges, whose energy on that end of that court never falters.
Still, it’s better if you can represent at least a pseudo-threat on offense. That’s why this game was so good for Bridges. 5 threes is going to earn him a highlighted mention on opposing team’s scouting reports.