My question about Avery Bradley

[vinnie]

Yes, it appears he is a good defensive player, although I think some here have gone a little overboard regarding his D. On the other hand, his offense is horrible. My question/issue is this: Shouldn't the guy show at least a little instinct on offense -- even if he is only 20-years-old? What I am talking about is natural ability/instinct. Maybe it will come, but I have seen few players look as lost on offense as this kid. I hope it is just because he is 20-years-old, but right now, he is too much of a liability on offense to be in the game.

[Roy H.]

I think he's probably overthinking things a bit on that end. 

On defense, I think Bradley plays exactly as you've described:  instinctually.  However, on offense I think he struggles because he's worried about bringing the ball up, and not screwing up, and the exact position he needs to be in, etc.  When he shoots, he seems hesitant.

Hopefully, as he becomes more comfortable, his offensive game will round into shape.  Like many have said, I look forward to him being able to go down to the D-League to get some confidence.

[Drucci]

I agree with Roy. His defense has been very good, mostly because you can tell he plays it with confidence, he doesn't overthink it, he justs plays instinctively.

I'm not as harsh as you are on his offensive game. Sure, he's shown nothing but to me it's more because he is obviously overthinkg int, really scared of making a bad play, missing a shot, etc. You can tell that he is too stressed when he shoots a wide open jumper, he hasn't made a (meaningful) one so far.

On the other hand, I really liked his play after his own miss last night when he got the ball back and drove to the paint without thinking : he took advantage of his speed and drew the foul.

I think  the more practice he gets, the more confident he will get on the court.

[Snakehead]

I agree with Roy and Drucci, he seems less lost and more that he is just hesitant.  The guy is so young, and though he has been in big basketball situations I'm sure, stepping foot on the floor with KG, Ray, Pierce, etc in front of a crowd of thousands is not easy for everyone to get used to.  I can't even imagine doing it, how much pressure you'd have on you and how surreal it would be.

He is a natural defensive player and his offense will come with time.

[Lucky17]

Yeah, his usual MO on offense seems to be to bring the ball up, dribble for 5-7 seconds, then find someone--anyone--to take the ball off his hands, like it's a ticking bomb.

He ought to be in the D-League, but with the injuries to Rondo and Delonte, the big club needs him. That's actually a mixed blessing, because while I'm sure he's learning a lot, he needs to work on some things and gain confidence, and a stint in the D-League would probably work wonders for him.

Still, I've heard it said that, outside of QB, PG is the most difficult position in sports to make the transition from college to the pros. I've also heard it said that you really don't know what kind of PG you have until the 4th or 5th year in the league, so steep is the learning curve.

[Chris]

He has looked better offensively lately.  Since they have taken the ball out of his hands, he has looked slightly more comfortable.  He has swung the ball better, seemed to have a better idea of where to go, and even looked more confident when he handled the ball.

I am starting to think that his instincts may not be as bad as they looked.  I still feel confident he is not a PG (at least not right now), but perhaps he could develop into a player that can fit into the offense.

My real question about him is with his shot.  He has been short-arming everything, and I don't know enough about him to know whether it is a problem with his shot, or if it is still nerves.  I think if he is going to be anything more than a bit player, he is going to need to be able to knock down that shot, so I hope it is just nerves...but that will be something to watch, since he has not looked any better with it even in warmups.

I should mention on a positive note that he has done much better defensively the last few games.  Clearly someone told him that he was overplaying his man way too much, and that is what allowed him to get burned so many times in the first few games.  But now that he has backed off a bit, and learned to funnel guys to help, rather than do it all by himself a bit more, he is turning more into the impact defender he was billed as.