PHOENIX — When he was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Phoenix Suns in the 2018 NBA Draft, Mikal Bridges was viewed as a prototypical ‘3-and-D’ player, one who could generate stops on one end and make teams pay with 3-pointers in transition or off another pass.
So far, that has been true. Bridges shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range during the regular season — the best of his three-year career — and finished with his best total in defensive win shares (2.6) and second-best mark in defensive box score plus/minus (0.8). But the Suns maintain that Bridges is much more than that, a player who can open things with his cutting and playmaking in addition to his known strengths.