Avery Bradley-o-Meter

[the_Bird]

Bradley could be an option to guard not only  Wade but also LeBron. And sugar pair Ray Allen/DWade can play their own ball game together on both ends.

Bradley are often compared with Rondo and Tony Allen as good defender. But both Rondo and TA are advanced short size Lebron-stoppers. Why not Bradley as well?

...  because Bradley is 6'2", 180#.  TA's two inches taller, about 35-40# heavier, and has really long arms.  He's still short to defend small forwards, but he's strong as hell.

'Bron is what, a full 6'8" and stronger than most power forwards?  Asking AB to defend LeBron would be like asking Pierce to defend Dwight Howard. 

Bradley will do well defending point guards and maybe some smaller shooting guards.  Over time, he might get strong enough to be able to pester someone like Wade.  But, he's not going to be on the floor much when any of the Heat starters will be out there.

[ScoobyDoo]

TP bbd24 - good, concise post and on the money. I think Bradley will continue to develop slowly - with some fits and starts - and then one game he'll have another bigger breakout game and I think we're all going to like what he's giving us.   

Bradley sits and learns from Rondo, Dooling, and Ray while getting some good floor time in right now.  For a 21 yr old, this is perfect.  The development has started early for the kid and he's got time to improve.  Not sure why anyone wants to give up on him, or throw in the towel.  Defensively, he's ahead of the curve, while offensively he can create his own shot, but isn't shooting it at a high rate.  If he gets that down, watch out.

The organization has to be patient. Watching the way their using him, it looks like the organization is on the same page when it comes to Bradley.  The fan's ?  Not so much.

[bucknersrevenge]

I don't dislike the kid but I need to see it more from the kid before he gets an endorsement. He looks like a deer in headlights. The game still looks too fast for him most of the times. I've seen a few positive flashes and certainly hope to see more but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he followed last night's "breakout game" with a certifiable dud. There is certainly talent there. But he has no confidence in his shot. For a guy with so much speed he makes no use of it in the fast break. And when he plays with the bench group next to Quis and Rondo/Dooling at times last night neither his teammates nor the Nets even paid him any attention out there.

As for his defense? Improving. But I wouldn't call pressuring Jordan Farmar of all people a couple of times as some great win. It's nice but I don't see him as the kind of passionate player that is gonna really ignite anyone. It looked more like his teammates were trying to ignite him. I'd like to see the kid succeed and hope he does. But not to turn this into a Moore vs Bradley debate but I saw more that impressed me in Moore's few minutes than Bradley's.

[gar]

Doc is definitely old school when it comes to playing time. You have to earn it. Bradley has. How long that lasts depends on whether he improves. Having someone like Etwan at his heals can only help.

[BballTim]

Bradley could be an option to guard not only  Wade but also LeBron. And sugar pair Ray Allen/DWade can play their own ball game together on both ends.

Bradley are often compared with Rondo and Tony Allen as good defender. But both Rondo and TA are advanced short size Lebron-stoppers. Why not Bradley as well?

...  because Bradley is 6'2", 180#.  TA's two inches taller, about 35-40# heavier, and has really long arms.  He's still short to defend small forwards, but he's strong as hell.

'Bron is what, a full 6'8" and stronger than most power forwards?  Asking AB to defend LeBron would be like asking Pierce to defend Dwight Howard. 

Bradley will do well defending point guards and maybe some smaller shooting guards.  Over time, he might get strong enough to be able to pester someone like Wade.  But, he's not going to be on the floor much when any of the Heat starters will be out there.

  Tony Allen did a decent job covering James in the past, and it wasn't because he's tall enough or strong enough to compete with him. Bradley won't be able to do that but saying he won't be able to cover anything but pgs and smallish shooting guards is fairly pessimistic.

[Chris]

  Tony Allen did a decent job covering James in the past, and it wasn't because he's tall enough or strong enough to compete with him. Bradley won't be able to do that but saying he won't be able to cover anything but pgs and smallish shooting guards is fairly pessimistic.

My problem with him right now is that his size, it is that he has not shown consistently strong defense in general.  He has been great pressuring the ball, but otherwise has been very eratic.  He has the skills to be a great all-around defender, and if he can put it together, he should be able to cover most SGs (although not many SFs).  But right now, I think you need him on the ball when he is in the game, otherwise you are losing his strength, and just making him a liability.

[the_Bird]

  Tony Allen did a decent job covering James in the past, and it wasn't because he's tall enough or strong enough to compete with him. Bradley won't be able to do that but saying he won't be able to cover anything but pgs and smallish shooting guards is fairly pessimistic.

I'd like to see him get stronger.  The statement was made about defending James (never going to happen) and Wade.  I don't think a guy like Wade is all that realistic either, just because he too would just overpower him.  Wade, specifically, seems like he'd just take him in the post. 

We've also seen Bradley do his work on some guys who are young or just not very good.  He'll keep getting some work, but it's all going to be against backups for now - I'm not sure whether he'll even get off the bench when we're playing Miami or Chicago. 

[Chris]

We've also seen Bradley do his work on some guys who are young or just not very good.  He'll keep getting some work, but it's all going to be against backups for now - I'm not sure whether he'll even get off the bench when we're playing Miami or Chicago. 

Which is how it should be.  I think he is slowly turning into a Lindsay Hunter type weapon (at least in the short term), as a guy who can punish teams for trying to play questionable ballhandlers as their backup PGs.  He shouldn't be part of the regular rotation once Pietrus is back (and perhaps before that), but as an 11th man used in specific circumstances, he could help this team.

[Celtics4ever]

Gabe Pruitt and Giddens showed better offensive ability than Bradley.  I am beginning to see why he did not dominate at Texas and was drafted so low.

I don't think much has changed since his drafting:

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/avery-bradley

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Avery-Bradley-5285/

I know people think he has not had time to develop but guys who get better practice in the off season too.

[Interceptor]

I know people think he has not had time to develop but guys who get better practice in the off season too.

So was Avery supposed to practice in the '10 offseason when he was recovering from ankle surgery, or in the 11' offseason that was a handful of days long because of the lockout?

[dtrader]

I know people think he has not had time to develop but guys who get better practice in the off season too.

So was Avery supposed to practice in the '10 offseason when he was recovering from ankle surgery, or in the 11' offseason that was a handful of days long because of the lockout?

Um...yeah. He should have been practicing this year. For a young player that needs skills training, the lockout should've been a blessing. The lockout doesn't mean you don't hone your craft...it means that you can dedicate yourself to practice 100%, without holding back to prepare for games.  It basically gave him twice as long as normal to practice shooting and ball handling on his own. Either he didn't do that, it wasn't successful, or it has yet to translate to game play.

[Inside-Out]

I know people think he has not had time to develop but guys who get better practice in the off season too.

So was Avery supposed to practice in the '10 offseason when he was recovering from ankle surgery, or in the 11' offseason that was a handful of days long because of the lockout?

I think he signed and was cut from a team in Europe?  Greece, maybe?

It wasn't a high point, anyhow.

Um...yeah. He should have been practicing this year. For a young player that needs skills training, the lockout should've been a blessing. The lockout doesn't mean you don't hone your craft...it means that you can dedicate yourself to practice 100%, without holding back to prepare for games.  It basically gave him twice as long as normal to practice shooting and ball handling on his own. Either he didn't do that, it wasn't successful, or it has yet to translate to game play.

[LooseCannon]

Um...yeah. He should have been practicing this year. For a young player that needs skills training, the lockout should've been a blessing. The lockout doesn't mean you don't hone your craft...it means that you can dedicate yourself to practice 100%, without holding back to prepare for games.  It basically gave him twice as long as normal to practice shooting and ball handling on his own. Either he didn't do that, it wasn't successful, or it has yet to translate to game play.

It means he can't be coached by anyone associated with the team.  It means he has less opportunities for organized games such as summer league.  How do you practice ball handling in a gym by yourself?  Sure, he went and played a whopping three games in Israel.

At this point, he's shown (in a small sample size) that he is probably capable of shooting well against D-League competition.  He needs game time against NBA-caliber players to improve.

And he probably does need more time learning the hows and whys of NBA-level game preparation now that he can't rely on pure athletic superiority.

[ianboyextreme]

why is this conversation still even being held?

[Interceptor]

I thought of this thread while I was watching the game yesterday. So here I am, bumping it, because of this extremely relevant comment:

I'd like to see him get stronger.  The statement was made about defending James (never going to happen) and Wade.  I don't think a guy like Wade is all that realistic either, just because he too would just overpower him.  Wade, specifically, seems like he'd just take him in the post. 

We've also seen Bradley do his work on some guys who are young or just not very good.  He'll keep getting some work, but it's all going to be against backups for now - I'm not sure whether he'll even get off the bench when we're playing Miami or Chicago.

There's no way at the beginning of January to predict that AB starts at the 2 spot against Miami in April, but here we are. It happened. I now have an animated GIF of Dwayne Wade getting smoked by a second-year, undersized two-guard.

Every time Avery pulls something like this off, it gets harder to write it off as a fluke. This kid is legit, and Danny stole him in the draft. Maybe the thread serves as a warning about counting chickens before they hatch, or counting them out in this case. Double metaphor.