How do you perceive Avery Bradley as a player?

[pearljammer10]

Ace athletic defender who is still learning to defend with position and timing. Good cutter, likely to turn into a decent to above average jump shooter. Kind of like a young Richard Hamilton.

Hamilton was a nice scorer in his day.  I'd be pretty shocked if Bradley ever turned into that kind of player on the offensive end.

Plus, Hamilton is 5 inches taller.

Yeah I dont see Bradley and Hamilton comparing much. Hamilton was a great offensive player for a few years,not so much on the defensive end, and can still be a decent role guy on the offensive end for a contending team in small minutes... If Bradley can give us half of the production on offense that Hamilton gave in his career, not only would I be happy but I would be shocked.

[scaryjerry]

Lindsey hunter

[PhoSita]

A young tyronn lue... Back when lue's only purpose was chasing around iverson. 

Bradley is a good backup point guard.  He's terrible on offense, but he's a good weapon to slow down opposing point guards.  Effective role player if you don't mind giving up the offense.  Like the Kendrick Perkins of point guards

I really don't think Bradley is suited to play point.  He can't handle the ball for you at all and he's a terrible passer. 

Ideally you want Bradley to play at off-guard next to a ball-dominant point guard who is big enough to cover larger opposing shooting guards so that Bradley can hound the ball-handler.  Somebody like Jrue Holiday or Deron Williams, for example.

[thirstyboots18]

I don't think his ball handling is THAT bad to be honest.  Most of his turnovers during the playoffs were from bad passes and bad decision making rather than bouncing off his foot or losing the ball under pressure.

I don't think he is an offensive liability out there as long as he's not expected to do too much (i.e. handle the ball and run the offense).  He seems to lack confidence at the best of times, and when he is forced out of his comfort zone his confidence drops to the point where it affects other parts of his game - he starts making silly mistakes, he gets softer on defense, etc.

I'm not too concerned with AB defending bigger guards.  I've seen him defend strong guards (like D Wade) and bigger guards without much trouble.  Obviously he'll struggle if he ends up on someone like Lebron or Carmello though.

AB really struggled this season, far more then he did in the prior one.  He missed a LOT of open layup and midrange jumpers that were automatic for him last season.  I think that touch will return to him in time and he will be a servicable offensive player, but I don't think he'll ever be a dominant one.

Remember guys that AB is still only 22 years old.  Look how far Rondo's midrange jumper has come from the time he entered the league until this season (where he was hitting at up around 50% from midrange). Bradley is nowhere near as bad a shooter as Rondo was in his first two or three seasons, so I'm fairly confident he'll improve in that regard.  Hell even Lebron was a pretty poor shooter early in his career, but has come a LONG way in the last season or two. 

Honestly I'd like to give him another season or two just to see whether he improves, because I think he's just too young, athletic and hard working to not improve as a player.  I see the size concerns but the NBA is a different league today.  There are very few SG's out there at 6'6" - 6'7" today.  Most of those guys who would have played SG in the past are moving up to SF these days as more teams move towards small-ball lineups and three-guard rotations.

I think it's pretty rare that you'll see Bradley having to guard a guy with Joe Johnson's size.

Just my thoughts though!

I think his ball handling is that bad? How many guys at his size or even position is worse?

Turnovers while dribbling aren't the only thing that equates to bad ball handling. Having to sub Avery out for T williams or having Pierce have to pretty much bring the ball up or handle it in the half court constantly is a pretty good indicator.

And just the eye test. Its absolutely nerve wreckig anytime some is pressuring him

I am far more concerned about how he starts the offense than with his dribbling. He is not a confident passer and can often throw the ball away on pretty simple passes into the post or around the perimeter. It is one thing to throw the ball away on difficult passes. That is a product of being aggressive or possible of bad decision making. Throwing the ball away to guys in the high post with defenders on their back means you just can't pass (especially when you are passing to vets who know how to seal defenders).

That is precisely why he is not a true point guard.  As a two guard, that is not his function.

[Fafnir]

Rip was a really good defender. Very quick for his size, was able to guard many of the quicker PGs that Billups would sometimes struggle with for stretches.

[hpantazo]

Rip was a really good defender. Very quick for his size, was able to guard many of the quicker PGs that Billups would sometimes struggle with for stretches.

and Rip was 6 ft 7 and an excellent scorer. Very different from Bradley. Oh yea, and he wore a mask, that has to count for something!

[mmmmm]

Offensively:  Somewhere in the middle between Spring '12 and Spring '13.


Defensively:  What you saw in both Spring '12 and Spring '13.

In other words, Avery is very likely to continue to be the elite defender that he has consistently shown all along.

And on offense, he'll probably settle in somewhere between the the hot-shooting of 2012 and the mediocre (post-shoulder surgery) shooting of 2013.

Note - the two samples are very similar in size:  1368 minutes in 2012 and 1435 minutes this last season.

If he regresses to the middle, he should end up as around a 47-48% eFG% & ~36% 3P%, ~77% FT%.

If he can shoot at those levels (which are consistent with how he's shot over the larger course of his career when you include HS, NCAA & D-league) then with his elite defense, he's a solid, plus-quality starter.

If he can't get his shot back up to those levels, then the worst case  is that he's a solid bench defensive role player.

Fortunately, he's still on his rookie deal for the next year (plus team option after that, I think) so we have time to figure out which of those two roles he'll fit long term.

[LGC88]

To me, there is no argument. If a guy is deserving or has the potential to deserve more of what is getting paid, you simply keep it.
Right now there is AB, JG, Sully and RR. I would have put KG but his age is another issue.

To return to the topic, AB is an impact player on this team, specially with the defence culture in Boston. He has proven he can guard Westbrook and that it can be a decent shooter. A player like that is rare and is a must need around a big three to be able to be a serious contender. I can see him improve in transition play and as a corner 3 player. On the defence event who else can eat the clock like he does with his full court harassment?

Too many good things and potential at a cheap price to even consider trading him.

[Monkhouse]

To me, there is no argument. If a guy is deserving or has the potential to deserve more of what is getting paid, you simply keep it.
Right now there is AB, JG, Sully and RR. I would have put KG but his age is another issue.

To return to the topic, AB is an impact player on this team, specially with the defence culture in Boston. He has proven he can guard Westbrook and that it can be a decent shooter. A player like that is rare and is a must need around a big three to be able to be a serious contender. I can see him improve in transition play and as a corner 3 player. On the defence event who else can eat the clock like he does with his full court harassment?

Too many good things and potential at a cheap price to even consider trading him.

I agree. Thats the thing I kind of like about our young core this year.

[CoachBo]

Do not agree at all with the above.

Bradley is a severely limited offensive player - below average shooter and ballhandler with some cutting skills - who looked more and more like a defensive role player - until his defense fell off the edge of the Earth in the Knicks series.

Definite trade bait.

[LooseCannon]

Bradley is a 2-guard.  He is not a point guard.  He is not a back-up point guard.  He has one position.  Despite being undersized, he is not a defensive liability at that position.

I like him starting and disrupting the other team's defense so they are less likely to get into a rhythm and get their offense started early in the game.

[Monkhouse]

Do not agree at all with the above.

Bradley is a severely limited offensive player - below average shooter and ballhandler with some cutting skills - who looked more and more like a defensive role player - until his defense fell off the edge of the Earth in the Knicks series.

Definite trade bait.

Disagree. With Rondo he was able to implement smart cutting for easy lay ins, and was able to fire up the open corner 3.

And in the playoffs, I saw plenty of times, where Felton pushed Bradley off to where a foul should've been called. Bradley just needs to bulk up, focus on his shooting, and cutting efficiently to disrupt the defense.