Bradley is a future star

[kozlodoev]

He is a perfect, natural fit with Rondo, so much so that Rondo asked him to start in place of the greatest 3-pt shooter in NBA history.

I don't think there's any evidence this actually happened.

[BballTim]

If Bradley gets his starting job back, he'd still be the fifth option on the floor.  If teams or his man wants to concentrate on him, all power to them.  The Celtics will gladly take defensive attention on their fifth option.

I understand it's more nuanced than that but Bradley wasn't effective just because defenses didn't pay attention to him.  He was effective because he has outstanding speed that is hard to check.  It's somewhat similar to how teams knew what Ray did all those years but because he was fast, quick and precise, he still got open despite a lot of defensive attention.  Teams can know what you do but if you have physical advantages and sense for timing, it's not going to matter. 

Teams know that Bass is very good at mid-range jumpers yet he gets them all the time because he's the fourth option.  Bradley will face more difficulty unless he improves after Pierce and Garnett move on but until then, he should be effective offensively if he can shoot well.

  Not too many players get covered closely when they're 18-20 feet from the basket and don't have the ball. You can say that Bass gets plenty of open shots because he's the 4th option but KG takes just as many wide open jumpers as Bass.

[Who]

I think he's got a shot. I don't think it's a certainty or anything (his offensive game is still quite underdeveloped) but there is definitely a chance there for him to become a star in the league. Anywhere from a low level star (top ten SG) to a perennial All-Star caliber talent.

It's hard to put a ceiling on any player with as much explosive athleticism as Bradley. His physical talent gives him so many opportunities. Bradley doesn't really have a ceiling. If he keeps working hard, he can improve and improve and improve. There is just so much room for development.

I compared Bradley to Kirk Hinrich (when he was at his peak starting on the Bulls) earlier in the summer. More of a lower projection for Bradley but ... if Bradley only reaches that level (and no further), I'll be happy. I am comfortable expecting that from him. I think Bradley is very likely to achieve (at least) that. Anything more than that is just gravy.

And if Bradley starts to show more ability as a shot-creator, then the expectations crank up another level to a Joe Dumars or a Monta Ellis (with defense) type player.

[mmmmm]

  I recall reading draft profiles about him saying that he was one of the best shooters in his draft class. I don't think that it's a stretch to think that he'll be a decent shooter going forward.

I recall the description being that he had a good mid-range jumper. I think it was said that Bradley was just killing it when they practiced and he had good form of his jumper, so Doc was publicly wondering why more shots weren't going in.

Bradley's shooting percentage was getting better.  Perhaps he is a guy who shoots better when he gets more minutes and would be better playing 30+ minutes as a starter rather than 20-25 minutes off the bench.

I think thats a factor.  Bradley was a very good shooter in H.S. and also in the D-League when he went there his rookie year and got extended minutes.  In his one year college, he was 'decent' from 3PT land but overall was really misused because he was restricted to taking nothing but outside shots in that Texas offense (a huge percentage of his shots were 3PT shots) whereas  at other levels (HS, D-League and this recent run of extended NBA minutes) we see that he also thrives when working on the run or on back-door cuts.

Based on how he's shot at other levels, I don't expect him to shoot 50% from 3PT land like he did this last season.  But I would be surprised if he didn't shoot somewhere north of at least 35% for his career from beyond the arc.  If I were to predict a number for his long-term career average, I'd guess he ends up somewhere right around 38%.  I also expect him to be a solid FT shooter.   With his speed, with experience and an improved handle, there is no way he shouldn't be able to get to the line several times a game. 

WAAY too soon to be sure he'll be a "star".  But he was a (nationally ranked) star in H.S. and he absolutely dominated the D-League.  And he sure did a fine imitation of a star last season.   Its not totally unreasonable to think he might end up a star in the NBA.

I'm just hoping he gets healthy and stays healthy so we can watch his career play out.

No he didn't. He was solid player. Not even close to a start. Retract back.

LOL - read too much into casual statements?  Jeeze, learn to recognize a throwaway line.

'Nice to know who to go to now for final and absolute opinions on what constitutes a 'star' from now on.

Others might, just might, disagree with you.

[rayallen1934]

  I recall reading draft profiles about him saying that he was one of the best shooters in his draft class. I don't think that it's a stretch to think that he'll be a decent shooter going forward.

I recall the description being that he had a good mid-range jumper. I think it was said that Bradley was just killing it when they practiced and he had good form of his jumper, so Doc was publicly wondering why more shots weren't going in.

Bradley's shooting percentage was getting better.  Perhaps he is a guy who shoots better when he gets more minutes and would be better playing 30+ minutes as a starter rather than 20-25 minutes off the bench.

I think thats a factor.  Bradley was a very good shooter in H.S. and also in the D-League when he went there his rookie year and got extended minutes.  In his one year college, he was 'decent' from 3PT land but overall was really misused because he was restricted to taking nothing but outside shots in that Texas offense (a huge percentage of his shots were 3PT shots) whereas  at other levels (HS, D-League and this recent run of extended NBA minutes) we see that he also thrives when working on the run or on back-door cuts.

Based on how he's shot at other levels, I don't expect him to shoot 50% from 3PT land like he did this last season.  But I would be surprised if he didn't shoot somewhere north of at least 35% for his career from beyond the arc.  If I were to predict a number for his long-term career average, I'd guess he ends up somewhere right around 38%.  I also expect him to be a solid FT shooter.   With his speed, with experience and an improved handle, there is no way he shouldn't be able to get to the line several times a game. 

WAAY too soon to be sure he'll be a "star".  But he was a (nationally ranked) star in H.S. and he absolutely dominated the D-League.  And he sure did a fine imitation of a star last season.   Its not totally unreasonable to think he might end up a star in the NBA.

I'm just hoping he gets healthy and stays healthy so we can watch his career play out.

No he didn't. He was solid player. Not even close to a start. Retract back.

LOL - read too much into casual statements?  Jeeze, learn to recognize a throwaway line.

'Nice to know who to go to now for final and absolute opinions on what constitutes a 'star' from now on.

Others might, just might, disagree with you.

how is it a throw a way line? You called him a star.

The sad part is I actually believe most think he is around here.

Sometimes you gotta try to bring everybody down back to earth.

He wasnt even close to being a star, he was more of decent backup contributing.

[BballTim]

  I recall reading draft profiles about him saying that he was one of the best shooters in his draft class. I don't think that it's a stretch to think that he'll be a decent shooter going forward.

I recall the description being that he had a good mid-range jumper. I think it was said that Bradley was just killing it when they practiced and he had good form of his jumper, so Doc was publicly wondering why more shots weren't going in.

Bradley's shooting percentage was getting better.  Perhaps he is a guy who shoots better when he gets more minutes and would be better playing 30+ minutes as a starter rather than 20-25 minutes off the bench.

I think thats a factor.  Bradley was a very good shooter in H.S. and also in the D-League when he went there his rookie year and got extended minutes.  In his one year college, he was 'decent' from 3PT land but overall was really misused because he was restricted to taking nothing but outside shots in that Texas offense (a huge percentage of his shots were 3PT shots) whereas  at other levels (HS, D-League and this recent run of extended NBA minutes) we see that he also thrives when working on the run or on back-door cuts.

Based on how he's shot at other levels, I don't expect him to shoot 50% from 3PT land like he did this last season.  But I would be surprised if he didn't shoot somewhere north of at least 35% for his career from beyond the arc.  If I were to predict a number for his long-term career average, I'd guess he ends up somewhere right around 38%.  I also expect him to be a solid FT shooter.   With his speed, with experience and an improved handle, there is no way he shouldn't be able to get to the line several times a game. 

WAAY too soon to be sure he'll be a "star".  But he was a (nationally ranked) star in H.S. and he absolutely dominated the D-League.  And he sure did a fine imitation of a star last season.   Its not totally unreasonable to think he might end up a star in the NBA.

I'm just hoping he gets healthy and stays healthy so we can watch his career play out.

No he didn't. He was solid player. Not even close to a start. Retract back.

LOL - read too much into casual statements?  Jeeze, learn to recognize a throwaway line.

'Nice to know who to go to now for final and absolute opinions on what constitutes a 'star' from now on.

Others might, just might, disagree with you.

how is it a throw a way line? You called him a star.

The sad part is I actually believe most think he is around here.

Sometimes you gotta try to bring everybody down back to earth.

He wasnt even close to being a star, he was more of decent backup contributing.

  If we're bringing people back down to earth, it's worth pointing out that "decent backup contributing" was enough to help the team more than Ray did.

[mmmmm]

  I recall reading draft profiles about him saying that he was one of the best shooters in his draft class. I don't think that it's a stretch to think that he'll be a decent shooter going forward.

I recall the description being that he had a good mid-range jumper. I think it was said that Bradley was just killing it when they practiced and he had good form of his jumper, so Doc was publicly wondering why more shots weren't going in.

Bradley's shooting percentage was getting better.  Perhaps he is a guy who shoots better when he gets more minutes and would be better playing 30+ minutes as a starter rather than 20-25 minutes off the bench.

I think thats a factor.  Bradley was a very good shooter in H.S. and also in the D-League when he went there his rookie year and got extended minutes.  In his one year college, he was 'decent' from 3PT land but overall was really misused because he was restricted to taking nothing but outside shots in that Texas offense (a huge percentage of his shots were 3PT shots) whereas  at other levels (HS, D-League and this recent run of extended NBA minutes) we see that he also thrives when working on the run or on back-door cuts.

Based on how he's shot at other levels, I don't expect him to shoot 50% from 3PT land like he did this last season.  But I would be surprised if he didn't shoot somewhere north of at least 35% for his career from beyond the arc.  If I were to predict a number for his long-term career average, I'd guess he ends up somewhere right around 38%.  I also expect him to be a solid FT shooter.   With his speed, with experience and an improved handle, there is no way he shouldn't be able to get to the line several times a game. 

WAAY too soon to be sure he'll be a "star".  But he was a (nationally ranked) star in H.S. and he absolutely dominated the D-League.  And he sure did a fine imitation of a star last season.   Its not totally unreasonable to think he might end up a star in the NBA.

I'm just hoping he gets healthy and stays healthy so we can watch his career play out.

No he didn't. He was solid player. Not even close to a start. Retract back.

LOL - read too much into casual statements?  Jeeze, learn to recognize a throwaway line.

'Nice to know who to go to now for final and absolute opinions on what constitutes a 'star' from now on.

Others might, just might, disagree with you.

how is it a throw a way line? You called him a star.

The sad part is I actually believe most think he is around here.

Sometimes you gotta try to bring everybody down back to earth.

He wasnt even close to being a star, he was more of decent backup contributing.

Key words:   "did a fine imitation of"

as in, for a short time, he performed at that level.   That's not calling him a star.  Chill.