Bradley is a future star

[Chris]

Marcus Banks is a superstar too

LOL. Yes but Marcus Bank's play didn't run Ray Allen out of town!

He did a good job of keeping the wins out of Boston though.

[Jon]

LOL @ anyone who thinks Bradley's ceiling is quality role player off the bench.  He was a great starter on a championship calibre team, who was a big contributer on both ends of the court,  which already exceeds that expectation.

While dual shoulder injury isn't a small touchup, with todays medicine, it really isn't that massive a deal.  I'm not saying he'll be a star this season by any means, but people routinely make comebacks from much worse injuries ala ACL/neck/etc. The most obvious example is Brady; and I would say he's done pretty well the past few years. 

He has a quality jumpshot with good shooting form
He is good around the rim
Has great athleticism
Is already the best on ball defender in the NBA
Moves well without the ball


He's going to be an elite player.

If I had to bet on whether he's going to be a star or a flop, I think I'd probably bet Bradley being a star.  But that doesn't mean there's not a lot of room in between. 

I like Bradley.  I even liked Bradley prior to his emergence.  But let's remember, he really didn't hit his stride until the last month or two of the season.  And there have been plenty of players over the years who have made runs late in the season on very good teams who never quite lived up to expectations.  Two that jump out from the '90s are Austin Croshere and Bryon Russell.  Both were starters on very good playoff teams (Indy and Utah) and both played themselves into some pretty large contracts.  However, neither turned into anything more than a good role player. 

Now I do think that Bradley's defense is a game-changer and something that neither of those guys had.  However, we do have to remember that most of his looks offensively came because he was an afterthought of the opposing defense.  Sure, he's a great cutter to the basket, but he isn't sneaking in there if the opposing defense wasn't spending 90% of it's effort focused in on KG, PP, and Rondo.  Similarly, he isn't seeing some of those easy looks if anyone but Rondo (and perhaps a couple of other PGs) is on the court with him. 

Again, I like the enthusiasm, but I also don't see the need to make definitive proclamations after a limited period of time.  I think we all like Avery Bradley, but we don't have to write his ticket to the Hall of Fame yet.  He has a tough road ahead of him, coming back from double shoulder surgery to a team that is going to have a tough time finding minutes for 4 very talented guards.  Keep in mind that last year they averaged these minutes: Rondo 37, Terry, 32, Lee 30, and Bradley 33 (during March).  That's 132 minutes of time for 96 minutes available.  So not only will Bradley face a talent competition when he returns, he'll also face a minutes crunch. 

[BballTim]

LOL @ anyone who thinks Bradley's ceiling is quality role player off the bench.  He was a great starter on a championship calibre team, who was a big contributer on both ends of the court,  which already exceeds that expectation.

While dual shoulder injury isn't a small touchup, with todays medicine, it really isn't that massive a deal.  I'm not saying he'll be a star this season by any means, but people routinely make comebacks from much worse injuries ala ACL/neck/etc. The most obvious example is Brady; and I would say he's done pretty well the past few years. 

He has a quality jumpshot with good shooting form
He is good around the rim
Has great athleticism
Is already the best on ball defender in the NBA
Moves well without the ball


He's going to be an elite player.

If I had to bet on whether he's going to be a star or a flop, I think I'd probably bet Bradley being a star.  But that doesn't mean there's not a lot of room in between. 

I like Bradley.  I even liked Bradley prior to his emergence.  But let's remember, he really didn't hit his stride until the last month or two of the season.  And there have been plenty of players over the years who have made runs late in the season on very good teams who never quite lived up to expectations.  Two that jump out from the '90s are Austin Croshere and Bryon Russell.  Both were starters on very good playoff teams (Indy and Utah) and both played themselves into some pretty large contracts.  However, neither turned into anything more than a good role player. 

  One big difference is that Bradley's younger and less experienced than either of them. Players generally improve less when they're 24-26 than when they're 21.

[ctrey]

I have maintained that Bradley is the second coming of Joe Dumars since he was drafted. I am sticking to that prediction.

[Celtics18]

 

I love Avery Bradley, and I think he's the perfect fit for this team, and to some degree, I think his "stardom" will depend on the team's success going forward.  If he and Rondo can form some semblance of an Isaiah Thomas/Joe Dumars tandem, and they can just bother the heck out of opposing back courts, making it difficult just to get into sets, and the Celtics can continue to go deep in the playoffs, and maybe even win a title with that backcourt, then Avery Bradley will definitely be a "star" in my book. 

On the offensive end, though,  I'm not sure I ever see him averaging 20+ points per game.  He's got the size of a point guard without the handles, and he doesn't seem like he has that scorers mentality like a Monta Ellis or even our very own Jason Terry. 

I'm really excited to see his progression as a player, though.  I think having him and Lee together is going to be awesome.  Those two are going to be competing, not to see who can score more points, but competing over who can lock people down better on the perimeter.  That's gonna be fun.

[kozlodoev]

a young legend in the making. Watch him come back with more muscle so he looks more like tony allen.

Yes. Also watch him grow 8 inches so that we can start him at PF when Garnett retires.

[RJ87]

I'm going to save my judgments until after he plays a full, healthy season with quality minutes. You guys should probably do the same.

Agreed.

I like Avery, his hustle is refreshing. But I'd like to see him for a full, healthy season once every other team has had time to scout him and prepare accordingly. He had a great stretch (and really, that's what it was - half of a condensed season) where he caught a lot of teams by surprise. Its also concerning that 2 of his 3 offseasons as a pro he's been recuperating from surgery and unable to work on his body and skills.

I hope the best for Avery, I really do. But I'm taking a wait & see approach before declaring him the 2nd coming of Joe Dumars.

[God]

I've heard he's very kind to animals also.

I like to go with the test "if I took this guy and put him on another teams, would they be substantially better just because he was there?"

Is he a difference maker or a contributor.

I'd say Bradley falls heavily  under contributor.

Is that bad? Nope, but  Avery Bradley is not going to make a bad team good or a good team great but he certainly could  make a very good contribution to a team that already has it's major pieces in place.

Playing with an elite pass first point guard tends to make a lot of guys seems like world beaters.

[hwangjini_1]

a young legend in the making. Watch him come back with more muscle so he looks more like tony allen.

Yes. Also watch him grow 8 inches so that we can start him at PF when Garnett retires.

no, no. 10 inches. then he can be the second coming of russell.

[Vermont Green]

Right now, I do not feel as though he is on a trajectory to be a "star" but rather a very good and valuable combo gaurd.  I don't feel he is big enough to be a star at SG.

His greatest potential exists if he can improve his handle and passing sufficiently to play as a regular PG.  With his defense and shooting, even if he can develop just solid ball handling and passing, I think he could be a star PG.

That is a big IF of course but based on his rate of overall improvement, I think he is going to improve his handle/passing in the next couple of years also.

I say put him on a PG training track and see what he can do (we have Terry and Lee to play SG, each for 3 or 4 years).  I think he can be a fine PG in the league which is much more valuable than a fine combo gaurd.

[arambone]

a young legend in the making. Watch him come back with more muscle so he looks more like tony allen.

Yes. Also watch him grow 8 inches so that we can start him at PF when Garnett retires.

Because wiry strong 21 year olds never get any stronger.

Brilliant, dude.

[AB_Celtic]

a young legend in the making. Watch him come back with more muscle so he looks more like tony allen.

Yes. Also watch him grow 8 inches so that we can start him at PF when Garnett retires.

Because wiry strong 21 year olds never get any stronger.

Brilliant, dude.

Yeah, I didn't quite get that extrapolation.

Plus, Bradley and TA are really similar players. Athletic, defensive specialists whose cuts are the opposing team's worst nightmare.

*Head scratch*, kozlodoev.

[kozlodoev]

a young legend in the making. Watch him come back with more muscle so he looks more like tony allen.

Yes. Also watch him grow 8 inches so that we can start him at PF when Garnett retires.

Because wiry strong 21 year olds never get any stronger.

Brilliant, dude.

No, because Bradley will never look anything close to Tony Allen, who was 35(!) lbs heavier going into the draft.

[kozlodoev]

Plus, Bradley and TA are really similar players. Athletic, defensive specialists whose cuts are the opposing team's worst nightmare.

*Head scratch*, kozlodoev.

That's not any more true than calling Al Jefferson and Ryan Anderson similar players, since they're both power forwards who can put the ball in the bucket.

Bradley is a short, quick guard who can stay with the ball.

Allen is a taller, strong guard who can play the passing lanes and body up stronger players (for those who have forgotten, Doc went on the record long ago saying that if Tony Allen was a couple of inches taller, he'd have him guard PFs).

So yeah, *eyebrow raise* back at people comparing Bradley to Allen. You can compare Rondo to Allen with about the same success.

[wdleehi]

I am just hoping he can be the player the Celtics need him to be.


A defensive disruptor and a respectable (meaning teams have to think twice about doubling off him) offensive player. 



Anything more is a bonus right now.