Suns forward Trevor Ariza to miss Spurs game, Mikal Bridges to start

The Phoenix Suns will be shorthanded when they take on the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.

Forward Trevor Ariza will not be with the Suns for a few days as he is dealing with personal reasons unrelated to the team, according to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.

“Trevor is not with the team for personal reasons,” Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov said before the Spurs game. “There is no story behind it … it’s a personal, family situation that he has to deal with and I wish him nothing but the best.

“Hopefully he is going to solve the problem quick and then come back.”

Ariza has started every game for Phoenix this season, averaging 10.2 points, 3.4 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Having to fill the void in the starting lineup, the Suns are turning to rookie Mikal Bridges, confirms Gambadoro.

“It’s a great challenge for him,” Kokoskov said of the rookie. “I think he brings stability, he’s a solid guy. That’s what we need … he’s going to make some mistakes, we know that, he’s a young guy, but he follows the gameplan very solid.”

It will be Bridges’ first start of his career.

In the team’s previous game against San Antonio, Bridges dropped 16 points and dished three assists in 27 minutes of work, both career highs.

Coming off the bench, the rookie out of Villanova has averaged 7.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game.

His best game came against the Memphis Grizzlies where he dropped 14 points and had two steals in a close 102-100 win.

Bridges’ teammates have taken notice of his abilities, both offensively and defensively.

Booker praised the rookie for his performance, saying he “knew his time was coming.”

“To be a rookie in that position and come in and perform — in a crunch-time game — says a lot about his will to win,” Booker said.

Follow @Tdrake4sports