Hornets Player Grades: Miles Bridges

After a career tarnishing 12 months where Bridges pled no contest and narrowly avoided jail time for a felony charge of injuring a child's parent, Bridges returned, albeit after serving a 10 game suspension at the start the season. For some it was eagerly awaited, others it was bitter sweet. No matter which side of the discussion you were on, there were no past examples of a player being forced to sit out organised basketball for twelve months in their mid-20s while fully healthy. Would an instant return to form be a guarantee?

Glass Half Full

Miles Bridges hit the ground running after his suspension, looking sharp and making an immediate impact. It took Bridges only two games to take the starting power forward position from PJ Washington who struggled early. Bridges only missed three games after his suspension and finished fourth in the league in minutes per game, in someways he was Charlotte's iron man in terms of reliability. The irony of this considering his absence over the previous 12 months isn't lost on me.

Despite his negative public perception, Clifford and multiple players referenced to Bridges as one of the emotional leaders of the team after Rozier was traded. Bridges averaged a career high in minutes (37.4), points (21.0) and rebounds (7.3). The main driver being his career high usage rate (23.5%) as injuries was into a top two offensive option next to Brandon Miller. Bridges efficiency suffered as a result, but that's to be expected with the lack of healthy and available talent on the roster.

Glass Half Empty

Despite productive counting stats, Bridges play failed to pass the eye test. Bridges stopped attacking the rim with the ferocity, athleticism and frequency most remembered and replaced his attacks with a heavy dose of mid-range shots (38%). His true shooting percentage fell to 55.6%, having been at 62% and 59% the previous two seasons. If you only used one word to describe Bridges on offense this season it would be "Settled", as he often took shots opposing defenses were happy to give him.

Defensively, his off-ball awareness which was never considered a strength, remained eye poppingly bad. His declining athleticism also showed up on the defensive end, with a career low in blocks (0.5) despite a career high in minutes. Despite playing so many minutes, Bridges looked "Heavy" all season which appeared to limit his speed and athleticism. If he isn't the same downhill threat driver, will he be the right fit next to the perimeter oriented duo of Ball and Miller?

Best Moment of The Season

Miles Bridges hitting the game winning three in OT against the Eastern Conference topping Boston Celtics