Is Mikal Bridges the next Shane Battier? Or can it be better?

“Colla boy” is a term that is certainly used too often when evaluating players these days, but when it comes to the likes of Mikal Bridges and Shane Battier, it is a justified description of the value they offer to a team. There are ways to influence the payout outside of the scoring points or make flashy plays that don’t always appear on the statistics sheet.

Phoenix has its two fundamental pieces in Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, and the best way to optimize that duo is not only through its internal development, but by surrounding them with winners who do all the dirty work and bring intangibles that is needed to win difficult victories . These are the real changes of culture. The “little things” add up in basketball and Mikal Bridges does hellish work already at such a young age.

The confrontation between Shane Battier and Mikal Bridges is something I have seen before from NBA scouts and fans, so I don’t take any credit for this confrontation, but rather dive into their similarities and where they align in their careers in this very early stage of Mikal Bridges’ career.

What do these two have in common? Let’s start with their ridiculously similar collegiate careers.

University careers

It is relatively frightening how similar their university careers are. Both attended schools with the winning tradition in Duke and Villanova, while they slowly developed over the course of their careers season by season. Each of them also played a vital role in winning a national championship in college. Pure winners.

Here are their freshman, second year and junior statistics seasons side by side. Battier participated in Duke for a senior season, which is not included in the graphics below.

Mikal Bridges’ first three seasons in Villanova:

The first three seasons of Shane Battier at Duke:

As you can see, they own Strangely similar statistical profiles with some minor differences here and there, but one has the idea of ​​why this comparison is starting to make sense of the surface.

Mikal Bridges is also one of two NCAA players in never on average at least 2.5 points 3, 1.5 stolen and 1.0 blocks per game. The only other player who ever accomplished this feat? Shane Battier in his last season at Duke as a senior.

NBA numbers early in the career

Along with almost identical statistical profiles in college, the start of their NBA career is also somewhat similar, although it is important to note that Shane Battier’s rookie season was the highest score of his career. He was invested in a role that was probably not ideal for him in Memphis as a rookie in which they relied on him to be one of their primary scoring threats with an average of over 12 FGA per game (even a career maximum ), then the inflow in points per game at the beginning of his career.

He scored an average of 8.6 points per game in his career, so if that bump of the first year collides and adds the fact that he was one year older than Mikal as a beginner, things balance.

Here are Battier’s first 2 seasons in the NBA.

Here is the statistical profile of Mikal’s career so far in his young NBA career. His slump in filming seems to be correct to some extent, so I expect him to get closer to that 38-40% mark as his confidence increases.

His second season was much more similar to Battier’s than his beginner’s season, for the reasons mentioned above about Battier’s change of role after his first year.

In addition, Bridges and Battier appear together in another exclusive list:

Mikal’s offensive (higher) ceiling

This is where I see Mikal cutting Battier in terms of pure offensive advantage. Battier averaged 8.6 points per game in his career and was a very limited player in terms of self-creation and directing. Bridges has shown some serious flashes of being much more than just an angler, although he has been relatively sporadic at this point.

For example, Bridges this year scores 62.1% with two field goals on the pitch, while Battier has reached a career record of 53.6% at two.

Along with that, Battier career AST% (estimate the percentage of teammate’s goals on the field that a player has witnessed while on the floor) was 8.8% while Bridges already has a career score of 9.5% and has shown some encouraging flash passing so that the number should only increase.

I’m not sure Bridges ever becomes a 20-point guy per game, but he has the tools to become a more consistent threat in the PPG 14-17 range as he resumes his three-point hit Villanova and attacks more aggressively from dribbling with the his impressive final numbers.

High IQ = High impact

Even at an advanced age (mid 30’s at that point), Battier was a key piece in the Miami Heat championship rings in 2012 and 2013. He did all the dirty work. Guarding the best player wing at night inside and out. Play elite team defense. Spread the floor. Hustling. To communicate. Protection of loose balls. You call it. LeBron, Wade and Bosh were on the record praising him for what he did for that team despite never being in the spotlight.

I see a similar archetype for Mikal which acts as an intrinsic non-heraldic piece for the next “good” team of Suns, whenever this can happen. I doubt it’s as limited as Battier was offensive, so there is a real chance that two or three years down the road will be in conversation as one of the best two-way players in the whole league, even with a gradual offensive improvement.

Here is another list on which Bridges and Battier share the word. It’s almost how many statistical questions these two end up together, whether it’s college or NBA data collected.

Monty Williams praise

If there is one thing that coaches love in practically every level of basketball, he is a player who is captivating, wants to improve and really cares about winning. Mikal has all these qualities in a shirt, which does not go unnoticed by the Suns first year coach.

“We all appreciate Mikal. He is a boy who plays on both ends. It has leadership qualities. It’s kind of a type of glue in the locker room and on the floor, “said Williams.

Monty Williams isn’t the only manager who seems to have loved coaching Mikal, as Villanova’s head coach Jay Wright tweeted him the other day.

As someone who has skyrocketed about Mikal as a prospect from his second year in Villanova, it is easy to see why he attracts admiration and appreciation from his coaches. The Suns haven’t had a player like him in a while, and if I were in charge of things he would be considered “untouchable”. Bridges should be included in any “Suns young core” conversation when it comes to Ayton and Booker. Its impact will be appreciated sooner or later.

reported: Bright Side’s John Voita had a detailed analysis of Mikal’s game with additional quotes from players and coaches. Mikal Bridges is Monty’s “glue boy”