Avery Bradley always could shoot and will continue to shoot well

[Celtics18]

I think he is horrible as a PG but very decent as a SG on offense.   Defensively he is excellent.   I think his shot is ok but he did not shoot well the first half of the season.  Injury definitely affects one's shot.

Interestingly, he's probably better defensively as a point guard, but better offensively as a shooting guard. 

[LooseCannon]

Not being able to lift your arms above your shoulders tends to make most shots a bit more difficult.  Yeah, lets base our opinions on Avery's shooting ability on 10 games where he had two bad shoulders.  Are you guys serious?

In the playoffs as a starter for 10 games he was back down to 6.7 points, 2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals with splits of 37%/22%/67%, but that maybe had something to do with his shoulder.  Could it also have had something to do with his shooting streak ending and teams finally having a chance to gameplan for him?

That's something that you would have to review game film to answer.  My perception from watching games at the time was that his shots were not being more strongly contested than in the regular season and that he was missing open shots that he was previously making.

Don't group me with LarBrd33.  I thought I was suggesting that injury was probably a better explanation than that teams were game-planning for him.

I've always been a strong supporter of Bradley.  During his rookie season, I was an advocate of the idea that his future was as a starting shooting guard and not as a point guard or combo guard off the bench.  I am currently a strong proponent of the idea that his ceiling is Joe Dumars level.  I don't think the Celtics need to acquire a taller-than-average back-up shooting guard to compensate for Bradley's height when he returns to being the starter.

[BballTim]

People only hate on Bradley because they foolishly wrote him off way pre-maturely.

 

Yup.

Nope

Nobody hates Bradley.  It's just easier for some people to suspend disbelief than others.  Personally, I see Bradley as a drastically undersized 6'2 180 pound shooting guard who just came off a season averaging 7 points and played aggressive defense.  Others squint their eyes and see a superstar.  In time he could end up being a serious factor... or he could end up being a quality player off the bench.  I think it's too soon to tell.

    So your expectations for him this year is low scoring, mediocre shooting and struggling on defense? 3rdstringer?

[Jon]

The OP is right, Bradley always could shoot.  It just goes to prove that people are willing to dismiss younger players when their confidence wavers.  It does prove that some guys, when given the opportunity, will thrive. 

I think we could see JaJuan Johnson be the same way.  I don't anticipate him being a stud, but I could see him being a longer Brandon Bass. 

But I'm still OK with him being traded.  You had to give up something to get something. 

[vjcsmoke]

Not being able to lift your arms above your shoulders tends to make most shots a bit more difficult.  Yeah, lets base our opinions on Avery's shooting ability on 10 games where he had two bad shoulders.  Are you guys serious?

In the playoffs as a starter for 10 games he was back down to 6.7 points, 2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals with splits of 37%/22%/67%, but that maybe had something to do with his shoulder.  Could it also have had something to do with his shooting streak ending and teams finally having a chance to gameplan for him?

That's something that you would have to review game film to answer.  My perception from watching games at the time was that his shots were not being more strongly contested than in the regular season and that he was missing open shots that he was previously making.

Don't group me with LarBrd33.  I thought I was suggesting that injury was probably a better explanation than that teams were game-planning for him.

I've always been a strong supporter of Bradley.  During his rookie season, I was an advocate of the idea that his future was as a starting shooting guard and not as a point guard or combo guard off the bench.  I am currently a strong proponent of the idea that his ceiling is Joe Dumars level.  I don't think the Celtics need to acquire a taller-than-average back-up shooting guard to compensate for Bradley's height when he returns to being the starter.

Celtics have acquired both Jet and Courtney Lee.  Now I'm not saying AB doesn't have a chance to be our starter.  But they definitely covered their bases.  I'm pretty excited to see what Courtney Lee can do in our offense at SG.

[LarBrd33]

People only hate on Bradley because they foolishly wrote him off way pre-maturely.

 

Yup.

Nope

Nobody hates Bradley.  It's just easier for some people to suspend disbelief than others.  Personally, I see Bradley as a drastically undersized 6'2 180 pound shooting guard who just came off a season averaging 7 points and played aggressive defense.  Others squint their eyes and see a superstar.  In time he could end up being a serious factor... or he could end up being a quality player off the bench.  I think it's too soon to tell.

    So your expectations for him this year is low scoring, mediocre shooting and struggling on defense? 3rdstringer?

Tim... most of the fellas on this forum seem to have Bradley inked in as a starter on the basis that he proved enough in those 11 or so games after officially getting the nod over Ray.  So I guess based on that, my expectation is that he'll start. 

But I'm still a little confused at what the heck the Celtics are doing if Bradley is inked in as a starter.  Jeff Green shouldn't be playing PF... he's far more effective as a SF... and 10 mil a year is a heck of a lot of money to pay for a backup SF (which is why I continue to wonder if Pierce will be moved to starting SG).  I use to say Bradley reminded me of poor man's Jason Terry (same size... less offense/more defense)... and then we went out and got Jason Terry.  Then on top of that we went out and got Courtney Lee who seems to be a serviceable shooting guard.  Lee seems to be a better shooter than Bradley, a better fit in the starting lineup, a more traditionally sized shooting guard and supposedly is an effective defender.  So honestly... I'm really confused on what Boston's plan is here.  I could see Bradley start... I could also see him quickly fall to third on the depth chart if his shot isn't falling and he starts getting exposed by teams in a normal-length season. 

I really want to see Bradley succeed.  The core of my argument is that I don't think I've ever seen a successful starting shooting guard that small.  People mention Joe Dumars, but even Joe Dumars was bigger than that.  Jason Terry is the prototype and although he spent some time starting for some times, his size ultimately kept him on the bench.  Maybe the team will just march out "shooting guard by committee"... There's some instances where Bradley makes sense (when you need a strong defender against other small shooting guards)... there are some instances where Jason Terry or Lee might make sense.

[GranTur]

Obviously, Avery has All-Defensive 1st or 2nd-team talent.

Offensively, Avery has the tools to remain above average. He is quick, has good hands, is a good shooter, and has a good BBIQ.

If Avery improves his advanced ballhandling, he can take advantage of his quickness to improve his scoring repertoire and run an offense more if needed. Growing up he had a great mid-range shot off the dribble.

He already has a good straight line drive to the basket. He is a decent finisher. Better ballhandling will turn him into a better passer and more versatile scorer.

[blink]

Ok, sorry I think I misunderstood your post then.  I thought you were minimizing the injury issue.

Not being able to lift your arms above your shoulders tends to make most shots a bit more difficult.  Yeah, lets base our opinions on Avery's shooting ability on 10 games where he had two bad shoulders.  Are you guys serious?

In the playoffs as a starter for 10 games he was back down to 6.7 points, 2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals with splits of 37%/22%/67%, but that maybe had something to do with his shoulder.  Could it also have had something to do with his shooting streak ending and teams finally having a chance to gameplan for him?

That's something that you would have to review game film to answer.  My perception from watching games at the time was that his shots were not being more strongly contested than in the regular season and that he was missing open shots that he was previously making.

Don't group me with LarBrd33.  I thought I was suggesting that injury was probably a better explanation than that teams were game-planning for him.

I've always been a strong supporter of Bradley.  During his rookie season, I was an advocate of the idea that his future was as a starting shooting guard and not as a point guard or combo guard off the bench.  I am currently a strong proponent of the idea that his ceiling is Joe Dumars level.  I don't think the Celtics need to acquire a taller-than-average back-up shooting guard to compensate for Bradley's height when he returns to being the starter.

[Gronktastic]

WIth Boston now having Terry, Bradley AND Lee at the SG position, I honestly think Terry or Bradley will become the backup PG behind Rondo as well. Terry and Bradley are both undersized at the SG position, but Bradley may need to gain better ballhandling skills in order to play the PG. I think with the amount of SG's we have now, Lee may need to play some SF and Terry/Lee may need to play some PG in order for them all to get their minutes. Not sure if Bradley will continue to play well as a PG as he will be on-ball instead of cutting as a SG.

Also a firm believer that he can actually shoot, it was just the injury that reduced his stats. He's also only a 2nd year? player, so he still has room to improve. Not every player starts off with a decent 3 point shot, many NBA players originally didn't have one, but have developed one over time, and I think Bradley can develop one if he doesnt have one already.

[Celtics4ever]

Interestingly, he's probably better defensively as a point guard, but better offensively as a shooting guard. 

Yeah, I would concur.