The crucial X-factor matchup in Game 4 of the NBA finals Wednesday may well come down to starting small forwards Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns and Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tip-off is 6 p.m., at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Bridges and Middleton are both 6-foot-7 with lengthy wingspans, hard-nosed defenders, and stellar ball-handlers who can create their own shots and fearlessly penetrate to the hoop. Both are solid spot-up shooters from 3 and mid-range.
"He takes a lot of pressure off of everybody," the Suns' Devin Booker said about Bridges after their Game 2 win in Phoenix.