I can't wait until Bradley comes back and all this hyperbole about him can end.
I don't think anyone really knows how great or mediocre he'll be... but calling him a "Top 5 defender" after what amounts to roughly 13 games is like calling Jeremy Lin a "top 5 point guard" after 11 games of Linsanity.
38 games, roughly 38 games as a starter playing heavy minutes.
It's misleading. A lot of those starts you are referring to came in January when he was pretty dreadful. He was getting heavy minutes and finished the month averaging 4.8 points, 1.3 turnovers and .7 steals... 40% shooting...10% from three... 64% from the line. Yeck.
Or the 10 games he started in the playoffs where he averaged 6.7 points, 1 turnover, .8 steals 37% shooting, 27% from three and 66% from the line.
What everyone is salivating over is about 17 games towards the end of March and April (the tail end of a lockout shortened season) where he shot out of his freakin mind and played exceptionally aggressive defense. It inflated his averages considerably. I was impressed by it as well. Made him look like he was a 50%/40%/80% kinda guy. We beat Miami three times that month and everyone assumed we had their number.
In game 1 on April 1st, Wade was "held" to a mere 15 points. Of course, that was partially because Wade was dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss the very next game.
We met them again on April 10th ... Wade his missed the game prior with an ankle injury. Once again, Bradley (who played 25 minutes) "shut down" an injured Wade by holding him to 20 points. Celtics took game #2.
In Game 3 on April 24th... NONE of Miami's big 3 played. Boston won.
Those high profile games at the end of the season in the midst of KG's resurgence and Bradley's ridiculous shooting have inflated Bradley's stock around these parts to Linsanity proportions. Maybe he's legit... maybe I'm just a worry-wart. But there hasn't been enough evidence to suggest this guy is a "can't miss" prospect. There's more evidence suggesting he's going to be a solid miniature Bruce Bowen/Tony Allen off the bench. A rich man's Marcus Banks.
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As for Sully. I like what I see out of him. Looks like a less emotional Glen Davis. I'd peg his value about the same as Brandon Bass.