MIAMI — Looking relaxed and prepared to take it down a couple of notches before cranking it back up to his buzzworthy levels in a few more hours, Miles Bridges strolls over to take a seat.
Some of the usual bright South Florida sunshine radiates through a few windows tucked behind the Charlotte Hornets forward and his teammates are scurrying about. Bridges is a picture of calmness, displaying the reserved kind of humbleness that’s served as a trademark of his going back to his days at Michigan State coach under Tom Izzo’s tutelage.
Don’t be fooled, though. The final week of the regular season has arrived and an inferno is immersed inside Bridges as the Hornets ready themselves for next week’s play-in tournament.
“Everybody is focused,” Bridges said Tuesday. “Everybody wants to make the playoffs. We’ve got guys that have been to the playoffs that really want to make it back, we’ve got guys that have never been there that really want to go to the playoffs.
“So everybody is really focused and locked in at the task at hand.”
That perfectly sums up Bridges’ mentality in his fourth season. His game has blossomed exponentially, leaving him as a candidate for the league’s most improved player award. He’s honed the raw athleticism and skill set he brought to Charlotte as a 20-year-old and morphed into a more all-around, polished player.
Bridges’ scoring average has been boosted by 7.6 points per game from a year ago, thanks to a whopping nine games in which he’s cracked 30 points or more and the 42 outings — nearly double last season’s output — he netted at least 20 points. That is the third-highest scoring increase among players with at least 200 field-goal attempts in each season.
His 20.3 points per game leads the Hornets, placing him 26th in the league overall, and he ranks 15th in total points with 1,542. Those leaps leave him encouraged.
“I’m definitely excited,” Bridges said. “Everybody that ever dreams about going to the NBA dreams of being a 20-point-per-game, 30-point-per-game scorer. And me just growing up and watching all the guys that came before that’s done that, it really is a blessing to me and I just want to continue to get better.
“So thanks to my teammates, thanks to my coaches because they are pushing me and gave me my confidence to be who I am right now.”
He undoubtedly possesses a different mentality, one that’s sparked him to be aggressive at all times and even helped him land his own website courtesy of the Hornets. He spent a bulk of the offseason working mostly on his ball-handling so he can be better at creating his own shot or making plays for his teammates.
It’s led to Bridges racking up a career-best 334 field goals in the restricted area, which ranks third in the NBA, and is twice as many as his previous single-season career-high of 167 established last season. He’s stockpiled 804 points in the paint, which places him seventh in the NBA, and he collects 10.6 points on the interior per game — which is 4.8 more than a season ago.
But he doesn’t think he deserves all the credit for success. He pointed to the guy who recently returned from injury as his inspiration and someone he emulates.
Yes, Gordon Hayward. The player whose arrival sent him to the bench at the beginning of his third year, a place he stayed until elbowing himself into the starting lineup at the tail end of the season in April.
“It was an eye-opener for me,” Bridges said. “As soon as he came here, he did a great job of being a vet and being a leader on this team. I had to take a step back. I haven’t done anything in this league. He’s been to the playoffs numerous times, done a lot of damage in this league.
“So it was good for me to kind of step back and see how a vet operates at that position, and just watching him for a full year kind of got me to where I am right now. Like my mindset, just attacking every play, being smart, knowing when to attack and pass. All that type of stuff. Gordon’s played a huge part in that. So I watch him every day.”
Considering he bet on himself prior to the season, opting not to sign a four-year extension with the Hornets worth a reported $60 million because his representatives at Klutch Sports didn’t think it fully represented his true value, it’s safe to say Bridges is set to receive more than a few extra dividends. He’s increased his worth and the price tag to bring him back once he hits restricted free agency this summer will include more zeroes.
Rather than faltering with the extra pressure to perform and succumbing to a potential distraction about his future earnings while others in his draft class inked new deals, he’s excelled. That shouldn’t go unnoticed.
“It’s easy for me,” Bridges said. “With the NBA, it’s never really about the money to me. I love playing basketball. I actually love the game of basketball. Even if I wasn’t getting paid, I would still play basketball. So it was easy for me to put that aside, focus on the season and focus on the task at hand that we are doing right now. So I just want to keep pushing forward.”
All while doing it with the Hornets and continuing the special bond he’s formed with his alley-oop partner. LaMelo Ball and Bridges have become just as tight off the floor and it’s another reason why he doesn’t intend on going anywhere.
“Yeah, it’s great playing with Melo,” Bridges said. “Since he’s got here he’s changed the culture for the better and we’ve been a winning team ever since he got here. So I love playing next to Melo. He’s just the type of teammate that makes everybody on the floor better. His energy on the court is contagious and it helps everybody out.
“So I’m happy to be playing with Melo. I would love to play with Melo for the rest of my career if I could.”
