We bet a bunch of Villanova Wildcats fans are going to be watching the Suns-Mavs series kicking off next night with interest. This series will oppose (at a distance) two of the best representatives of the Philadelphia establishment: Mikal Bridges et Jalen Brunson. « Four years ago we were winning a title and now we’re playing in the playoffs, it’s pretty crazy “, enthuses the first.
The two men have a college career in common, punctuated by two NCAA titles in 2016 then 2018. This past year, Jalen Brunson had also been voted best player of the college season with 19 points on average, while his teammate had been cited in the third five of the championship.
Selected in the second round
However, they have had various adventures in the Draft. The winger slipped away to Arizona as the 10th-place pick, where the fullback had to wait until the second round, where Dallas picked him up with only their 33rd pick.
A selection which obviously seems late in view of its current performance. Mikal Bridges himself still struggles to understand. ” Whether you explain it by his height or something else, I think sometimes picking 18-year-olds who are shooting six points per game is different than picking a guy who has responsibilities, takes the team to a national title and win it for them, I’d rather pick that guy. »
« Credit goes to Dallas, their team and everyone who knew they had a ‘steal’. He finished so low I thought Phoenix was going to pick him “, Continues the finalist for the defender of the year trophy. But that year, in addition to Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton in “top pick”, the franchise of Arizona had preferred to retain the Frenchman Elie Okobo with his 31st choice.
A missed opportunity to bring the two men together without affecting their respective development. Because despite this unfavorable Draft, Jalen Brunson quickly imposed himself in the Dallas rotation. From his rookie season, like Mikal Bridges, he was approaching ten points on average.
Another “creature” released
« In college you could camp in the snowshoe and help (to defend on Brunson). In the league there is so much space, it goes with his game. I knew he would be a better NBA player than he was in college, which is crazy to say », formule Mikal Bridges.
The latter recalls that Jalen Brunson must share the leather, for four years, with another representative of this exceptional Draft, Luka Doncic. ” This guy’s been All-NBA since he’s been in the damn league and he’s got the ball a lot. (Brunson) has to step back so it’s difficult. And he, like me, we know that if he had the ball more often in his hands, he would dominate. »
Precisely, according to him, the absence of the Slovenian, for the first three matches of the previous series against Jazz, unlocked ” another creature, another part of him, that I know […]. I feel like there weren’t many players who could hold it. This is not to discredit anyone in Utah, I just know JB and I know what a killer he is. »
Thus, when he saw his former teammate explode by chaining the matches to more than 24 points (28 points on average over the series), Mikal Bridges said to himself: “ That’s who he is. This injury to Luka Doncic will therefore have been a blessing in disguise for the Mavs. Maybe a little less for the Suns…
