MILES Bridges

Bridges' numbers from last season came with Charlotte, where he played in 77 games and averaged 31.0 minutes a night. He put up 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, with 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks. He shot 46.0 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 82.2 percent from the line, good for a 57.0 true shooting mark. His usage rate sat at 22.1 percent, and his plus-minus was a positive 1.9. Those are last season's numbers with Charlotte, not this year's production in Phoenix, but they give a clear picture of the player the Suns are getting.

Bridges is not on the injury report right now. He had been dealing with a right ankle and leg issue listed as day-to-day as of October 8, but the injury log shows he was cleared on October 17. That timeline suggests the ankle cost him some practice or game time around the start of the year, but it did not linger. With no current designation next to his name, Bridges is good to go as the Suns move through their schedule, and his health will be worth tracking given how physical his game is.

The recent box scores have been uneven. On October 16 against Utah, in a loss, Bridges scored 8 points with 3 rebounds and an assist in 21.4 minutes, plus-7 on the floor. Two days earlier, against San Antonio in another loss, he did not play, logging 0 points and 0 minutes. On October 7 against Chicago, also a loss, he managed just 3 points and 1 rebound in 7.8 minutes. And on October 5 versus Detroit, another loss, he had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 14.2 minutes. Taken together, it is a stretch of limited and inconsistent minutes early in his time with this group.

Bridges' last extended look with Charlotte came down the stretch of last season. On April 12 he had 7 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in a win over New York. He followed with 10 points and 8 rebounds in a loss to Detroit on April 10, then 13 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to Boston on April 7. He closed strong, with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a win over Minnesota on April 5, 19 points and 6 rebounds in a win over Indiana on April 3, and 25 points in a win over Phoenix on April 2 — his new team, at the time still an opponent.

Bridges has shown up in a pair of Suns Notes roundups dated September 28. One mentioned him alongside Luke Kennard, Collin Gillespie, the center position and owner Mat Ishbia. The other grouped him with Khaman Maluach, Khaman Ighodaro and Devin Booker. Neither item spells out a specific storyline beyond the names involved, so there is no confirmed news to report from them yet — just a sign that Bridges' name keeps surfacing in the same conversations as the Suns' centers and their two biggest names on the roster.