So , does anyone still think Bradley is starting quality after these playoffs?

[mahonedog88]

This is one of the unfortunate things about a young team making the playoffs...they get put under a microscope for the national audience to see, the opponent adjusts game by game in a series, and you really see what you have with the players on your team.

And there's no denying that AB's stock has definitely fallen these playoffs, very disappointing this series.  I think when Ainge signed him to that contract, that was him saying he thinks very highly of Bradley and ultimately wants to try and keep him around as a piece for the next time we turn into championship contenders.

But this series has been eye-opening, and now I'm not so sure him being here longterm is a foregone conclusion.  If Bradley is the piece that makes or breaks a deal to bring in a proven, legit star...then see ya later Avery

[CFAN38]

I think Bradley is the player on the roster who would be the best complement if put in a starting lineup with two stars with no overlap of position.

Given the current makeup of the roster, I think Bradley taking an open jumper early in the shot clock before the defense is set is often at least as good of an option as pulling the ball back and getting into a half-court offense.

The Celtics need upgrades in the frontcourt much more than they need upgrades in the backcourt.

I agree the back-court is fine for now. The Cs need to give the 3 guard rotation of IT, AB and Smart time to grow and develop. They are locked up will 2018 so DA has time. The front court is where the team needs to find a path. The Cs have hard working role players who don't necessarily have skill setts that compliment each other. This is to be expected with the way the roster changed and came together over the course of this crazy season. As for AB I also agree he is a complimentary player. He moves around gets open hit jump shot and play high level D. He is not a guy who can be counted on or expect to create offense...

[Waew]

We need a quality 3.

[CelticGuardian]

Danny messed up giving this guy 8 million a year.

[Evantime34]

If Bradley was on a good team his value as a defender and spot up shooter would be readily apparent. On a team where he has to regularly create his own shot he is not put in the best position to succeed.

I would be fine if we traded him, but I don't want it to be for a mid round pick. We only should be dealing him if we can package him with draft picks or other players to bring in a boarder line star.

Mark my words, if he is dealt to a good team like San Antonio everyone will praise him. Let's say the Spurs replaced Danny Green with Avery, do you think they would miss a beat? I don't.

[quidinqui33]

As several of you have already said on this thread, I don't think it is so much Bradley specifically. Rather, it is the skill set and physical attributes of our starting back court.   

The way the league is, unless you happen to have a front court player that can handle the ball and get to the line like Lebron or Durant, you have to have atleast one backcourt player that can do that in your starting lineup.  Heck, even those two have have Kyrie and Westbrook.

Think of all the good teams: Parker in SA, Conley in Memphis, Curry in GS, Rose in Chi, George in Indi, Paul for the Clips, Teague in Atlanta, and on and on.

IT can obviously do this, but he is just too small to be the only guy we have that can do this and he is better suited doing it off the bench.

So one of either Smart or Bradley needs to develop this skill set or we just cannot have both of them as starters moving forward.  I think smart will with time and as his ankle fully heals and I actually think he brings more intangibles to the table right now.

For this reason, I actually think our current team is probably better off with Smart and Turner starting as our backcourt moving forward (well the one game we have left) with Turner being our "ball handler" when things break down, and bringing in IT as the first guard off the bench in most cases, or Bradley if we need better defense.

[Donoghus]

I think Bradley is the player on the roster who would be the best complement if put in a starting lineup with two stars with no overlap of position.

Given the current makeup of the roster, I think Bradley taking an open jumper early in the shot clock before the defense is set is often at least as good of an option as pulling the ball back and getting into a half-court offense.

The Celtics need upgrades in the frontcourt much more than they need upgrades in the backcourt.

I agree with all of that.

Same here.  Saves me the trouble of writing the same thoughts.

[TA9]

Yes I still think that Bradley is starting quality.
Honestly I think that it's a bit unfair to judge Bradley solely on the basis of his performance in this series against the Cavs. Bradley isn't perfect on the offensive end, (which I'm sure that everybody knows by now) hence that it's going to be difficult for him to score if he draws too much attention from the adversary. I'm convinced that Avery would do a lot better if he was playing with players who could draw the attention away from him, which would make the game a lot easier for him.

[e4sym0de]

Danny messed up giving this guy 8 million a year.

I highly disagree. 8mil gona be MLE money really soon. AB is still young, he is still improving and he is allready good at defense. Even if you are not a fan of him, there is no doubt he can be a top8 player on a contending team and he is paid like that, not like beeing a top4 guy or something.

[CelticsBR]

Worst of all , he plays hero ball all the time. Especially when the crowd is going crazy like last night . It's like he gets caught up in it and just starts chucking every chance he touches the ball, with no regard to the shotclock , game clock or how the game is going ( how other players are shooting and working offensively )

I do think that Avery is a average starting shooting guard in this league, specially if he is paired with a taller point guard. However, NOTHING is more annoying in his game than the amount of times the Celtics are in a run and the Garden is getting crazy and he completely destroys the dynamic of the team by disturbing the ball movement with some unreasonably plays.

His shooting seems to be above-average for plays where the celtics seems not to be able to penetrate when the possession clock is ticking down, but he really needs to understand that even his best shot from anywhere in the floor is not good enough to be preferred over moving the ball and trying to find somebody for an open layup.

I'm ok with Bradley taking 30-35% 3 point shots when the clock is almost over, but I don't want him to shot with that accuracy when we still have 20 seconds to go.

[jpotter33]

If Bradley was on a good team his value as a defender and spot up shooter would be readily apparent. On a team where he has to regularly create his own shot he is not put in the best position to succeed.

I would be fine if we traded him, but I don't want it to be for a mid round pick. We only should be dealing him if we can package him with draft picks or other players to bring in a boarder line star.

Mark my words, if he is dealt to a good team like San Antonio everyone will praise him. Let's say the Spurs replaced Danny Green with Avery, do you think they would miss a beat? I don't.

In the right system, Avery should be utilized like Green. Green is almost primarily a three point shooter, and he hardly handles the ball.

[clover]

Worst of all , he plays hero ball all the time. Especially when the crowd is going crazy like last night . It's like he gets caught up in it and just starts chucking every chance he touches the ball, with no regard to the shotclock , game clock or how the game is going ( how other players are shooting and working offensively )

I do think that Avery is a average starting shooting guard in this league, specially if he is paired with a taller point guard. However, NOTHING is more annoying in his game than the amount of times the Celtics are in a run and the Garden is getting crazy and he completely destroys the dynamic of the team by disturbing the ball movement with some unreasonably plays.

His shooting seems to be above-average for plays where the celtics seems not to be able to penetrate when the possession clock is ticking down, but he really needs to understand that even his best shot from anywhere in the floor is not good enough to be preferred over moving the ball and trying to find somebody for an open layup.

I'm ok with Bradley taking 30-35% 3 point shots when the clock is almost over, but I don't want him to shot with that accuracy when we still have 20 seconds to go.

Bradley ranked #180 in the league, in total, this year for real plus minus. Phil Pressey had a higher PER. I'd be interested in the 15 starting SGs you think are worse than AB.

[mctyson]

Defensively, absolutely.  He is one of the best defensive guards in the league.

He has to make open 3s though.  When he isn't knocking down shots he hurts the team.

[LooseCannon]

I'm ok with Bradley taking 30-35% 3 point shots when the clock is almost over, but I don't want him to shot with that accuracy when we still have 20 seconds to go.

The Celtics had an offensive rating of 104.9, which means they scored about 1.049 points per possession.  You have to make approximately 35% of threes to score 1.049 points per possession.  (Actually, less because sometimes you get an offensive rebound when you miss.)  During the regular season, Bradley shot 35.2% on threes.  It is likely that he shot better on uncontested threes than on contested threes, so an open Bradley three from a decent spot on the floor is probably going to be an above-average offensive possession for the Celtics.  This will be more true against an opponent which is good at defense, because you have a  lower scoring expectation in the half court offense.

Bradley shouldn't be hoisting up contested shots or shots from spots on the floor where he has a low percentage, but if he has a good look at an open three from one of his better spots on the floor, there's no point in moving the ball around when an open Bradley three is one of the shots you are looking for.

[jacigar]

I have said all year long, that Bradley should be traded. He (as stated) could be successful on a different team. Our 3 guards (I do not include Turner) Bradley-Smart and Thomas 6-2,6-4,5-9 are a combined 28-59 2pt% .475  and  9-35 3pt%.257 against Irving 6-3, Shumpert 6-5 and Smith 6-6. If you look at the draft, nobody ranked where we at, is going to get a rim protector with 7-4 wing span. Our best bet is to pursue Phillys Nerlens Noel from Malden Ma.   I would keep Thomas for now and hope Smart can develop. Bradley #16 and other possibilitys might be fot this trade.  If we make this deal, and keep 28 and 33  , i would draft T.Jones-PG  and Verezenkov Sf . This would give you:Pg Thomas-Jones, Smart G ,TurnerSG,
Young-Verezenkov GF, Crowder SF,Olynyk F,Sullinger PF.Noel FC and Zeller C to move forward with.