Avery Bradley

[2short]

I was very impressed with him playing on bad ankle and all.  He showed defensive speed that only rondo has which made me think WHAT a backourt they could be in the future.  Jumper looked nice, as much of a surprise as erdin has been, Bradley might be the better addition in the end.  I would be surprised if he sees any pt this year, if he does it would have to be due to injury or trades.  I'd rather he gets a season of learning under his belt, he is still young.

[Celtics4ever]

Rondo and Bradley are our future backcourt, aye, that has to be the plan.

[bucknersrevenge]

Probably nothing this year.  West is going to absorb most of the guard minutes off the bench (including some of Nate's) and Nate will be there for any scraps. 

Nate will be there for more than scraps. His minutes will be comparable to Delonte's. 

Right now Nate's getting 7-8mpg as the primary back-up to Rondo and little 4-5 minute spurts as a tiny 2-guard next to Rondo.  Once D-West enters the rotation he's going to have 1st dibs on both of those roles.  Nate's going to be left with the little bits of time that Marquis has been putting in at 2-guard.

I think you are underestimating Nate's value to the second unit. Last night vs. Memphis another example of his explosiveness.  His play will dictate his minutes. I think that Delonte back will give Ray and Rondo more rest, rather than eating into Nate's minutes.  We'll find out soon enough.

I believe that is exactly what is gonna happen. Rondo has been playing way too many minutes and Doc I think would love to get him down to 35 or lower for the bulk of the regular season and make sure he's fresh for the playoffs. Same with Ray.

[jpd985]

Once he is healed I expect him to get some time in Maine to get him playing some ball again.

[kozlodoev]

Rondo and Bradley are our future backcourt, aye, that has to be the plan.

And where exactly are we going with a backcourt that can shoot neither threes nor free throws?!

[Alleyoopster]

I have a feeling he's coming back way too soon.  I pray I am wrong. The Celtics have an awful history of letting players back before they are healed.  Just look at the recent past, Garnett played 15 games too many games before he went on the injured list.  Perkins played on his injured knee much of last season,yet Doc kept playing him.  Baby struggled with his thumb.  And, even Marquis...same problem. 

If he truly is healthy, then playing time will come if he's shutting down players in practice and/or his practice team is winning most of their contests. 

[Jon]

I have a feeling he's coming back way too soon.  I pray I am wrong. The Celtics have an awful history of letting players back before they are healed.  Just look at the recent past, Garnett played 15 games too many games before he went on the injured list.  Perkins played on his injured knee much of last season,yet Doc kept playing him.  Baby struggled with his thumb.  And, even Marquis...same problem. 

If he truly is healthy, then playing time will come if he's shutting down players in practice and/or his practice team is winning most of their contests. 

I doubt they're rushing Bradley back.  What purpose would there be to rush him back to sit on the inactive roster?  More importantly, even if they rush him back, he's hardly going to aggravate the injury in street clothes. 

[clover]

Rondo and Bradley are our future backcourt, aye, that has to be the plan.

And where exactly are we going with a backcourt that can shoot neither threes nor free throws?!

Avery's still a teenager.  Patience.

[the_Bird]

Rondo and Bradley are our future backcourt, aye, that has to be the plan.

And where exactly are we going with a backcourt that can shoot neither threes nor free throws?!

Half the scouting reports say Bradley's a good shooter, half say he can't.  From the little we saw in preseason, no reason to believe he'll never have a reliable jumper; he ain't Rondo, with terrible form and no consistency. 

[greenpride32]

For this year, he's either an insurance policy if someone gets hurt or one of our more valuable trade chips.  Don't be surprised if a need comes up later in the season due to injury and we use him to fill that void.

[tenn_smoothie]

Probably nothing this year. 

i'd hate to see Bradley's season play out that way - i saw him get a few pre-season minutes one night and, defensively, he looks very quick as well as strong.

i think he'd be invaluable in the playoffs to come in at maybe 4 minutes per half to do a smother job on the opponents best shooter - he would add a few more volts to an already dominant defense and in that role he would be able to take that much more out of players like wade, carter, rose and bryant. hope to see Doc giving him some minutes with that in mind this season.

[xmuscularghandix]

I was very impressed with him playing on bad ankle and all.  He showed defensive speed that only rondo has which made me think WHAT a backourt they could be in the future. 

Agreed. The funny thing about this league is that when someone had a bad ankle they continue to score but blame the lack of defense on injury.

If that’s what his defense looks like with one good ankle i’m very excited.

[wasi]

I believe Marquis will play tonight otherwise I was thinking he might grab a few minutes tonight. I think he's cleared to play now. Unfortunately he might not get to suit up so even if it's a blowout he cant get any run.

I think his offense will end up being a pleasant surprise as well. They just didn't use him well in college and his tools work a little better in the NBA. His defense as most have said is already at a very high level. I'm very excited to see him play whenever that is.

Also, pretty sure it's a safe bet that he'll move ahead of Wafer on the depth chart. We'll see very little from him this year barring an injury but we'll probably find out what he's capable of.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I'm bumping this thread because it's hilarious how similar it is when people spoke about Avery Bradley as a rookie and sophmore to how we talk about Marcus Smart now.  I am thinking of starting a quiz game where I take a poster's quote about Marcus now and Avery Bradley in 2010 and see if people can guess which one they are talking about.

[kozlodoev]

Not sure what's so crazy about this thread. It's mostly spot on. For example...

Offensivesly: He has a deadly pull-up jumper from midrange, is better catching and shooting from outside, has a good handle on the ball, but is usually looking more for his own shot.

Defensively: He’s a shut down guy, who can force turnovers, come up with those same types of Rondo and Delonte blocks, plus he’s an athletic body who can finish on the break.

Overall, i’d say he’s more Tony Allen with a midrange game