A look at Michigan State forward Miles Bridges.
This overview will showcase the strengths and weaknesses of Miles Bridges also I will go deep into detail about his jump shooting and his shooting potential at the next level. Furthermore, we will look at his slashing and driving ability which is a huge part of his game.
**Offense**
*Jumpshot*
Miles Bridges overall has a very good jumpshot. He possesses good shooting mechanics, high arching shot and good balance during the shot. During the jumpshot, he keeps his feet under him and a high set point which allows him to shoot over defenders well. Bridges shot is very quick and he can get it off with very little space. Great shot preparation on catch & shoot shots. A big reason this is the case is he sets his feet very well and jumps vertically with no weird hitches and glitches in his jump shot. Good Shooting from, Consistent shooting mechanic’s bring up the possibility of being a good-to-great shooter of screens. Miles possess a good quick hop which allows him to set his feet well facing the rim. Miles Explosiveness and shot mechanics allow him to shot over the defender without starting his dribble in ISO’s he utilizes jab-steps well to create space on face-up jump shots. Off the dribble, he has upside Clean and consistent of the bounce mechanics combined with excellent balance. He has the potential to be a very good of the dribble shooter. Off the dribble shot’s he gets very good vertical lift and releases the basketball at the apex of his jump which gives a very high release point. Even though he has improved on his off the dribble shooting skills at Michigan St he still needs work on shooting off the dribble.
*Driving and Slashing*
Miles Bridges is a very good slasher it is one of his main strengths overall. A trait that helps Bridges become very good at slashing and in transition is that he is a very elite athlete. Bridges is one of the most athletic players in this 2018 NBA Draft. Bridges has a dynamic first step, he can blow by defenders in a hurry and finish in the paint with highlight real dunks. He also possesses excellent body control and fluidity with very good aggressiveness and creativity. Elite Explosiveness he gets off the floor very quickly(excellent second jump) and gets up very high. To further credit his high-level athletic ability he is able to change direction very quickly and has quick feet with very good ball handling skills. Low center of gravity gives him the ability to drive to the rim with excellent pace. Miles has a great skill of attacking as soon as he touches the ball keeping his defenders honest. He averaged 3.7 FTA a game and knocked down 3.1 of them shooting a great .853 % from the line per 40 minutes he averaged 4.1. A player with Miles Athleticism should average more than 3.7 FTA attempts especially one that is good as he is at getting to the paint. A lack of space limited his drives he projects to be the type of player to benefit from the extra space the NBA has to offer. One major issue with Miles Bridges slashing is he does not have a strong right hand primarily finishes with the left hand to the point of overusing it he has average touch with his right hand. Miles plays at one speed the majority of the time which causes him to be out of control at times. Since Miles plays at one speed he can have trouble shaking off defenders that are in good position or in front of him. Miles would benefit heavily if he can learn how to play slower and in control. Overall Bridges is an average finisher at the rim at 65% efficiency he can make up for his lack of size(6’6 height, 6’9 wingspan) with his explosiveness, body control, creativity, and touch. He is able to absorb contact from defenders and adjust his shot in mid-air. He is a Good scorer down low despite his average length he makes up for this with explosiveness & strength.
*Scoring Overview*
Miles Bridges averaged over 16 ppg’s his two years at Michigan State. His freshman year he averaged 16.9 ppg and his sophomore year he averaged 17.1 ppg. Sophomore year his field goal percentage and 3 point percentage dropped from freshman year. Freshman year he posted .486 FG% on 13.0 shot’s to .451 FG% on 13.4 in his sophomore year. Freshman year he posted a 3P% of .389 on 5.1 attempts compared to his sophomore year percentage of .364 on 5.7 attempts. The major thing that changed between his freshman to sophomore season offensively is his free throw percentage. It improved drastically from .685% on 3.3 attempts to .853% on 3.2 attempts. Miles overall is not much of a passer respectably he averaged 2.1 assists to 2.4 turnovers his freshman year and 2.7 assists to 2.0 turnover’s his sophomore year. A portion of this can be attributed to him playing with two big’s limiting his slashing attempts more. Playing the 3 more than the 4 his freshman year.
*Defense and Rebounding*
One of the major points of Miles Bridges is his good defense and rebounding. In his two years at Michigan State Bridge’s averaged over 6 rebounds a game. He is overall a very good defensive rebounder. In his freshman year he averaged 8.3 rebounds a game and in his sophomore year, he averaged 7.0. Freshman year he averaged 1.5 blocks per a game Sophomore year that number dropped to 0.8 blocks. A major reason for his drop of Rebounds and Blocks is that Miles moved from playing primarily the 4 to the 3 also the addition of Jaren Jackson Jr.lowered both of these static’s for Bridges. Bridges overall has a very low steal rate never averaged a steal per a game. 0.7 Freshman year 0.6 Sophomore year overall Miles does not play the passing lanes that well he averages an abysmal 1.2% steal rate. One reason this can be is because of Bridges average 6’9 wingspan. Despite his low steal rate Bridges ended the season with a defensive rating of 95.5 which ranks 8th in the Big 10 and he ranks 7th in defensive win shares.
References:
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics
