The Phoenix Suns capped an incredible regular season by clinching the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They were able to kick their feet up and watch the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors do battle on Wednesday in the play-in tournament, knowing they would play the winner. With the Suns now knowing their fate, they will buckle up to face LeBron James, Anthony Davis and L.A. in the NBA playoffs. Here's the Suns' X-factor that could make all the difference in this first-round matchup.
Mikal Bridges has had an extremely consistent campaign for the Phoenix Suns. Bridges was the only player on the Suns to play in all 72 regular season games. Sometimes the best ability is availability; Bridges provides that and so much more.
Los Angeles's defense can really buckle down and make life miserable for the opposition. Against the Warriors in the play-in game, the Lakers double-teamed Stephen Curry on numerous occasions throughout the game. Steph still got his, but it forced others to step up.
That meant Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jordan Poole were expected to do more. While both are good, they needed to be great to help the Warriors. They ultimately fell short. It's safe to say Bridges is more than a tier ahead of those two players.
While all the attention will go to Chris Paul and Devin Booker, and rightly so, it will be Bridges who benefits the most on the perimeter for the Suns.
On the season, Bridges is shooting 42% from 3-point range and is quietly averaging 13.5 points per game for the Suns. Again, the headlines the soundbites go to — and come from — Paul and Booker, but Bridges is a critical piece to the operation.
The Lakers will focus on limiting Booker and making Paul uncomfortable, much as the blueprint for the Suns will be to take James and Davis out of rhythm as much as possible. This leaves the door ajar for Bridges to flourish on the grand stage of the NBA playoffs.
If he's hitting his shots, if he's consistently giving the Suns 14 points a game, it could be tough sledding for the Lakers. Many are predicting L.A. to take care of the Suns and make another run as the Lakers try to defend their title from a year ago, but Phoenix is no joke.
It's odd to see a team such as Phoenix go from not in the playoffs for quite some time to the No. 2 seed, and yet not get much attention. That's what happens when the Lakers and the Clippers are who they are, and when the likely NBA MVP resides in Denver.
This Suns-Lakers series has the feel of a battle that will go the distance or close to it. The primary superstar players will get theirs. They always find a way. The hero, though, could be Mikal Bridges. He's been a model of consistency all year long for Phoenix and has proven to be a lethal sharpshooter over and over again.
Mikal Bridges is the X-factor for the Suns against the Lakers.
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