Back in familiar territory, Miles Bridges settling in with Hornets: ‘It’s like he never left’
Sweat pouring off him at a rate that could fill up a gallon-sized bucket in minutes, Miles Bridges couldn’t be more thrilled to experience this environment once again.
Another grueling Charlotte Hornets training camp practice was in the books, the second successive session that earned a notable mention from coach Steve Clifford about how impressive Bridges looked during the day’s activity. It’s a situation Bridges hadn’t officially been in for the better part of the past 15 months, not since the disappointing end to the Hornets’ 2021-22 season.
He’s excited to be back as LaMelo Ball’s sidekick, pleased he’s able to experience some of the small things he longed for while sidelined after pleading no contest to felony domestic violence in November.
“Just being around my teammates, just getting to know them personally and on the court — just being around all that,” Bridges said Friday. “And just playing. Playing in front of the community. I missed the city of Charlotte, playing in front of them, and they deserve to have a good season.”
Which could very well happen based on Bridges’ early observations.
“Everybody has gotten better defensively,” he said. “That’s the main thing that I noticed. So, I’m just trying to get good with them, get the defense down so we can be a lockdown team this year. But everything has been good.”
Bridges returned to the Hornets after signing a $7.9 million tender in July, taking a one-year deal and betting on himself, thinking he’ll put together an elite-type of season before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. If his first few days of camp, coupled with what the staff and front office executives saw from him during optional workouts, are any indication of what may lie ahead for Bridges, he may be well on his way to a strong bounceback.
Conditioning is expected to be among the major hurdles for Bridges to clear, given he hasn’t played in a competitive game in the league since Charlotte’s loss to Atlanta in the play-in tournament in April of 2021. He weighs around 240 pounds and wants to be closer to the 230-235 range — “I’ll get that down within the next two days,” he said. “I might be there right now, honestly, after this practice” — when he makes his likely regular-season debut against Milwaukee on Nov. 17 when his suspension ends.
But so far Bridges is apparently passing his initial fitness tests with lofty grades, which could help everything else fall in line rapidly.
“I’ve watched a lot of film on him, obviously coached against him for a few years,” Clliford said. “But look, he loves to play and he has such an energy level that helps everybody. Think about it: Two years ago he was over 20 (points) a game and was our best rebounder. So, I’m not sure there is anything surprising me other than he’s a lot better in rhythm than I thought he would be.”
In essence, he’s slid right in.
“Yeah, it’s been great,” Gordon Hayward said. “Honestly, it’s like he never left, the way he’s fit in just because he knows a lot of the same stuff that we are doing, and he’s going to bring so much versatility to us. He’s going to be able to guard multiple positions, handle the ball, be a screener, a roller, obviously a slasher and a cutter. But he’s provides lots of versatility.”
He just won’t be able to do it immediately.
Once the regular season begins, Bridges’ situation during his suspension will be similar to Memphis star and South Carolina native Ja Morant. Bridges is allowed to travel with the team on road trip, and he’s also eligible to practice, just as he can when he’s in Charlotte. He also can participate in the Hornets’ game day shootarounds, which are morning sessions where the players get the juices flowing and work on strategic things they’ll use hours later against their opponent.
In the meantime, he’ll keep picking up Clifford’s terminology and philosophies, and with the extra time he’ll have to study serving the remaining 10 games of his suspension, Clifford thinks Bridges’ knowledge could end up being a strength. There’s still plenty of things offensively and defensively Bridges has to master.
Luckily for him, he already has a familiarity factor somewhat.
“It’s pretty much all the same,” Bridges said. “It’s just coach, he pays more attention to detail, so if you miss a single thing by this much he’s going to get on you. So that’s something that I’ve just been working on and that’s good for me, too. Because you need details in order to win.”
And a solid presence defensively, someone who can be a stopper. And that’s where Bridges wants to come in. In order to elevate his overall repertoire, that’s a an aspect of his game that’s not quite up to par in his mind
He intends on changing it in 2023-24 and is shooting to make one of the NBA’s all-defensive teams. It’s high among his list of priorities.
“Yeah, that’s a big goal,” Bridges said. “That’s just the only place I haven’t pushed myself. I can be way better defensively with my athleticism. So, yeah, I’m going to try to guard the best players this year and get that all-defense.”
If he doesn’t, then he’ll try to draw on the life lessons he’s leaned on over the past year-plus.
“Just learned patience,” Bridges said. “Try to stay patient, how to use my head. That’s one of the main things because I need to be a good vet for all the younger guys here and still even be a vet to Melo sometimes. So, yeah, that’s it for me.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
