Mikal Bridges Can Keep Suns' NBA Championship Odds Afloat

Last night, we saw one of the best performances of the playoffs by Mikal Bridges. He played 47 minutes, scored 31 points and lived up to his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy. He had a career-high four blocks and showed that if he’s on top of his game, the Phoenix Suns are a hard team to beat. 

Devin Booker isn’t walking through that door anytime soon and there is a very hungry Dallas Mavericks team (I don’t believe in the Utah Jazz) likely waiting for them on the other side of this series. 

Obviously Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton are going to be the offensive focal points, but Bridges is going to have to be the third option with Booker out. His defense is always going to be there, but his offense needs to catch up. 

Phoenix will likely deploy Bridges on Luka Doncic and focus the rest of their defense on the role players. If that happens, Bridges will affect Doncic’s shooting and can make him a high usage-low efficiency player. That type of performance definitely will make the Suns competitive in a series many people will pick them to lose. 

All of this is to say that with Bridges stepping up, the Suns haven’t lost any value to win the West or the NBA title. Personally, I am a Golden State Warriors believer and see them going to the NBA Finals. However, I can't ignore that with Booker out and the Suns in a fight against the Pelicans, Phoenix has regained some of the value it lost coming into the playoffs. 

WynnBET has the Suns’ odds to win the West at +200 and their Finals odds at +400. The Suns were -130 to win the West when the playoffs started. With Mikal Bridges showing his potential as a two-way player, now is the time to squeeze the last drops of value the Suns have in the future market.