Charlotte Hornets: 3 players who impressed in preseason

Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges impressed this preseason

Bridges stepped up big time last season when the team needed somebody to carry a bigger load after all the injuries. He ended the season playing the best ball of his life, leaving many wondering if he could carry that into this season.

In the preseason it looked like yes he would. Bridges averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the four preseason games. His only “bad game” was…yep Dallas, but Bridges had to leave that game early after hurting his knee.

Bridges shot exactly 50% from the floor in all three games that mattered. He was getting to the rim and making his shots with ease. This made up for poor three-point shooting, but hopefully, that will not be a problem in the regular season.

Bridges started all of the games for Charlotte. He had a solid first two games against the Thunder and the Grizzlies with limited playing time.

Bridges’ best game by far was against the Miami Heat in the third preseason game. He had 22 points 10 rebounds and was 4 assists shy of a triple-double. Bridges even shot 50% from three in that game, making four out of eight shots.

Bridges’ performance against the Heat stood out. Borrego praised Bridges for his play after the game and acknowledged the team is better when he plays like that.

"“He’s finding his legs, finding his rhythm,” Borrego said. “Obviously this was the best game he’s played in the preseason. So we need Miles. I thought he was fantastic tonight. Shot the ball, made good decisions, one turnover. But the boards, the defense, obviously the shot-making is huge for us. So if we can get this Miles consistently, we’re going to be a much-improved team.”"

Bridges preseason play was definitely impressive. Now it is just a matter of if he sustains it for the regular season.