Avery Bradley shot over 40% from 3 last season?

[AB_Celtic]

He shot 54 three pointers last year, the sample size is too small to be anything meaningful, why are none of you talking about e 22% he shot from three in the playoffs?

Because he was hurt for the majority of the playoffs...?

It was a lingering injury that he was dealing with all season, it's just as likely that his shooting came back to earth as it is that his injury affected his shooting. 

Mark my words, he shoots above 35% next year it will be a miracle

A miracle? Really? Come on now! I can't! 0.0 Some people love to jump from one extreme to the next!

I'm just saying 35% is the barometer for an average nba 3 point shooter.  Bradley is not an average shooter, not yet.

This is not a very substantive statement. If Bradley continues to shoot well beyond the arc, you just say that he arrived at the "yet." If he shoots badly, you say he hasn't arrived at the "yet" and last year was a fluke.

Agreed with ImShak. What you're saying is just another extreme. I'd say Bradley has absolutely arrived at the point of being an average shooter, and most likely is above average.

[Rondo2287]

He shot 54 three pointers last year, the sample size is too small to be anything meaningful, why are none of you talking about e 22% he shot from three in the playoffs?

Because he was hurt for the majority of the playoffs...?

It was a lingering injury that he was dealing with all season, it's just as likely that his shooting came back to earth as it is that his injury affected his shooting. 

Mark my words, he shoots above 35% next year it will be a miracle

A miracle? Really? Come on now! I can't! 0.0 Some people love to jump from one extreme to the next!

I'm just saying 35% is the barometer for an average nba 3 point shooter.  Bradley is not an average shooter, not yet.

This is not a very substantive statement. If Bradley continues to shoot well beyond the arc, you just say that he arrived at the "yet." If he shoots badly, you say he hasn't arrived at the "yet" and last year was a fluke.

Agreed with ImShak. What you're saying is just another extreme. I'd say Bradley has absolutely arrived at the point of being an average shooter, and most likely is above average.

 You are basing this on 54 shots and disregarding his terrible postseason.  Like I said, he won't shoot above 35%. 

Question: do you know why there are a minimum number of at bats required to be a batting champ?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

He shot 54 three pointers last year, the sample size is too small to be anything meaningful, why are none of you talking about e 22% he shot from three in the playoffs?

Because he was hurt for the majority of the playoffs...?

It was a lingering injury that he was dealing with all season, it's just as likely that his shooting came back to earth as it is that his injury affected his shooting. 

Mark my words, he shoots above 35% next year it will be a miracle

A miracle? Really? Come on now! I can't! 0.0 Some people love to jump from one extreme to the next!

I'm just saying 35% is the barometer for an average nba 3 point shooter.  Bradley is not an average shooter, not yet.

In one respect his injury was lingering, but it also got worse—he ultimately ended up having two bad shoulders instead of just one. Not even Ray Allen could've shot well from 3 with two bad shoulders.

Sure, Avery still has a ways to go with his shot, but it got a lot better as the season went along, until his two bum shoulders shortcircuited his progress. I expect him to improve more this season.

[bfrombleacher]

A miracle? Really? Come on now! I can't! 0.0 Some people love to jump from one extreme to the next!

Shak...why are your comments always so spot on?

[mgent]

He shot 54 three pointers last year, the sample size is too small to be anything meaningful, why are none of you talking about e 22% he shot from three in the playoffs?

Because he was hurt for the majority of the playoffs...?

It was a lingering injury that he was dealing with all season, it's just as likely that his shooting came back to earth as it is that his injury affected his shooting. 

Mark my words, he shoots above 35% next year it will be a miracle

A miracle? Really? Come on now! I can't! 0.0 Some people love to jump from one extreme to the next!

I'm just saying 35% is the barometer for an average nba 3 point shooter.  Bradley is not an average shooter, not yet.

This is not a very substantive statement. If Bradley continues to shoot well beyond the arc, you just say that he arrived at the "yet." If he shoots badly, you say he hasn't arrived at the "yet" and last year was a fluke.

Agreed with ImShak. What you're saying is just another extreme. I'd say Bradley has absolutely arrived at the point of being an average shooter, and most likely is above average.

Anybody that only makes .3 threes a game is no where close to even an average 3pt shooter.

Tony Allen shot 39% his rookie year with 31 attempts.  Tracy McGrady shot 46% from 3 last season is he a good yet?

[chambers]

Take out the one game where Bradley went like 5/6 against the Knicks I think and he shot 32%.  Right now Bradley is not an average nba shooter.

Good idea!  While we are at it, lets also take out the last game of the season where he went just 1 of 6.   That puts him at .... 38.1%

Lessee .. average NBA 3PT% is ... 35%.

You are right.  He's not an average NBA shooter.

Ice cold.
TP.

Bold statement of the week.... Avery Bradley will win the NBA 3 point comp @ All Star weekend one day.

[LarBrd33]

He shot 43% FG, 37% from three and 54% from the line in College...

In High school he shot 38% from three and 74% from the line.

His rookie season he shot 34% FG, 00% from three and 50% from the line.

During 11 playoff games this year he shot 37% FG, 22% from three and 66% from the line.

Prior to the allstar game he shot 44%, 0% from three and 68% from the line.

For the month of April he shot lights out... 52%/54%/78% ... 

Smells like a streak to me.  Hope I'm wrong.  But this forms the core of my tempered enthusiasm when it comes to Bradley.  Everyone else is losing their minds over the kid.  I see a drastically undersized shooting guard who may or may not be able to shoot and is currently an incredibly hyped defender.  We'll see what happens.  I'm rooting for him.

[GreenFaith1819]

He shot 43% FG, 37% from three and 54% from the line in College...

In High school he shot 38% from three and 74% from the line.

His rookie season he shot 34% FG, 00% from three and 50% from the line.

During 11 playoff games this year he shot 37% FG, 22% from three and 66% from the line.

Prior to the allstar game he shot 44%, 0% from three and 68% from the line.

For the month of April he shot lights out... 52%/54%/78% ... 

Smells like a streak to me.  Hope I'm wrong.  But this forms the core of my tempered enthusiasm when it comes to Bradley.  Everyone else is losing their minds over the kid.  I see a drastically undersized shooting guard who may or may not be able to shoot and is currently an incredibly hyped defender.  We'll see what happens.  I'm rooting for him.

Joe Dumars was undersized, too - at 6'3" SG.



And he's already recognized as a player by the NBA and Dwayne Wade..already getting team Defensive votes.

I'm trying to temper my expectations of him, too, but all I'll say is I can't wait until he returns from his injury.

MIA probably won't see him on Oct 30, but they will eventually have to deal with him. I really believe he will be key to tipping the scales in our favor vs the likes of MIA and CHI.

[Kuberski1]

Bradley got comfortable in his role, and in just being in an NBA game as the season progressed, and we all say what he did.

He can hit the corner 3 at a pretty good clip, but not so from farther out.   If he plays withing himself, he should have good percentages next year....whether 40%+ it's hard to say, but respectable....

[billysan]

Bradley only needs to hit at a 37% or so from the three point line. He also has a nice slashing game that Rondo helped him show last season. That will help give him space to shoot the longer shots. Keep the defense honest anyway. We just need him to be a viable threat at the 3, not the best shooter in the league. We will have Lee, Pierce, and Jet on the floor as well at one time or another with him.

I am much more concerned that he improve the FT shooting to the mid or upper 70% range. As a guard who will handle the ball a lot, he has to be able to make the FT's.


TP for LarBrd33. I agree with your commments.

He shot 43% FG, 37% from three and 54% from the line in College...

In High school he shot 38% from three and 74% from the line.

His rookie season he shot 34% FG, 00% from three and 50% from the line.

During 11 playoff games this year he shot 37% FG, 22% from three and 66% from the line.

Prior to the allstar game he shot 44%, 0% from three and 68% from the line.

For the month of April he shot lights out... 52%/54%/78% ... 

Smells like a streak to me.  Hope I'm wrong.  But this forms the core of my tempered enthusiasm when it comes to Bradley.  Everyone else is losing their minds over the kid.  I see a drastically undersized shooting guard who may or may not be able to shoot and is currently an incredibly hyped defender.  We'll see what happens.  I'm rooting for him.

[BballTim]

He shot 43% FG, 37% from three and 54% from the line in College...

In High school he shot 38% from three and 74% from the line.

His rookie season he shot 34% FG, 00% from three and 50% from the line.

During 11 playoff games this year he shot 37% FG, 22% from three and 66% from the line.

Prior to the allstar game he shot 44%, 0% from three and 68% from the line.

For the month of April he shot lights out... 52%/54%/78% ... 

Smells like a streak to me.  Hope I'm wrong.  But this forms the core of my tempered enthusiasm when it comes to Bradley.  Everyone else is losing their minds over the kid.  I see a drastically undersized shooting guard who may or may not be able to shoot and is currently an incredibly hyped defender.  We'll see what happens.  I'm rooting for him.

  You talk about everyone losing their minds about Bradley but you also seem to think that many of the expectations that those people have are at least reasonably likely to occur. Does that mean that you've only lost part of your mind over Bradley?

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Wait, so you are telling me a guy who took over the starting spot with half the regular season done, two bum shoulders, and first time playing real playoff minutes (forget starting), wasn't lights out in the playoffs? Yes, his shoulder was injured during the regular season but they never shut him down! It's obvious that he was worse off in the playoffs injury wise b/c the MOST important part of our season they chose to make him stop playing/practicing completely when we needed him (he still wanted to play but they made him shut it down)!

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

He shot 43% FG, 37% from three and 54% from the line in College...

In High school he shot 38% from three and 74% from the line.

His rookie season he shot 34% FG, 00% from three and 50% from the line.

During 11 playoff games this year he shot 37% FG, 22% from three and 66% from the line.

Prior to the allstar game he shot 44%, 0% from three and 68% from the line.

For the month of April he shot lights out... 52%/54%/78% ... 

Smells like a streak to me.  Hope I'm wrong.  But this forms the core of my tempered enthusiasm when it comes to Bradley.  Everyone else is losing their minds over the kid.  I see a drastically undersized shooting guard who may or may not be able to shoot and is currently an incredibly hyped defender.  We'll see what happens.  I'm rooting for him.

Yes, the 54% was probably a streak (everyone has them)... but lets look at the percentages you mention;

college: 37% from three
high school:  38% from three
rookie season: 0% from three (a time when he could barely sniff the court)
pre Allstar: 0% from 3
post Allstar/starter minutes/starter: 54% from 3
playoffs: 22% from 3

Now, I'm no mathematician but to me, it seems that when AB gets the minutes and is confident in his role... 35% is not guaranteed but likely a place he can get to without a problem!!! The times he was shooting poorly, he was getting erratic and few minutes (playoffs he was injured and his first time playing... heck, people who have been to the playoffs many times have sucked in them at times [best player in the world just figured out how to show up in the playoffs when times get tough last season])!

Wait, I forgot to add, Ray Allen shot 30% in the playoffs, a guy who has been in the playoffs far more times than AB (he was still playing plenty of minutes). Yes, I know Ray was injured but he had been during the regular season ("lingering injury") just as AB was! In fact, Ray was in the mid 20s the two series before the conference finals (not that much better than AB)! So, you give a guy who has been there, done that a pass b/c of injury but not rookie/first-timer in AB? Yea, I don't get it!

[ScoobyDoo]

Everyone always bags on Bradley and his shooting, how "great" of a shooter he either is or isn't. I could care less if he can shoot - I want to know if he can score.

The answer to the question of whether he can score or not is an very solid "yes" for me.

He can score on the break.
He can score in the mid range game
He can score via cutting
He can score by attacking the rim - and with his athleticism, the better his handle gets, the more deadly he'll become at attacking the lane. Note: his handle got dramatically better last season versus his rookie year.

He can score from getting fouled "while" attacking the rim - because he's a pretty good foul shooter.

He can score, lastly, from three land. He already has shown he has a "decent" stroke from there - it will get better.

1. Can he score? Yes he can.
2. Does he have a nose for the rim that is equal to his nose for the ball on defense. Yes, it's the way he's built mentally.

He'll never be Ray Allen, no one will. But he will be serviceable.

Last comment: I think he is also a "gamer", meaning he's a guy that wants it the most when it matters the most.

He's a Rondo / KG type mentality.

If Jeff Green had that mentality he'd be James Worthy. I'm interested to see how aggressive Green comes out this year.       

[colincb]

He shot 43% FG, 37% from three and 54% from the line in College...

In High school he shot 38% from three and 74% from the line.

His rookie season he shot 34% FG, 00% from three and 50% from the line.

During 11 playoff games this year he shot 37% FG, 22% from three and 66% from the line.

Prior to the allstar game he shot 44%, 0% from three and 68% from the line.

For the month of April he shot lights out... 52%/54%/78% ... 

Smells like a streak to me.  Hope I'm wrong.  But this forms the core of my tempered enthusiasm when it comes to Bradley.  Everyone else is losing their minds over the kid.  I see a drastically undersized shooting guard who may or may not be able to shoot and is currently an incredibly hyped defender.  We'll see what happens.  I'm rooting for him.

Another TP.  I look at his evaluations coming out of college and they were all over the place which is pretty much how it's been for him since he's been in the NBA.  It's clear that he's elite defensively, but it's equally unclear what he is offensively (although he has been consistently a good mid-range shooter).  He'll have defensive problems with tall SGs like Joe Johnson who will post him, but JJ gives a lot of defenders problems,

Offensively, I was most troubled by his playoff performance which was putrid.  I was focusing on how he was being defended and he was being covered on the corner threes and they were paying attention to him to prevent the backdoor cuts.  Many are ready to pass his performance off to his injuries, but I'd be concerned that the opposing defenses are now paying more attention to him than previously and like some other players (Novak for example), the playoffs are a better barometer of their offensive talents.  I'd also admit that I don't know whether he improved and then suffered a setback in the playoffs or whether he was on a streak and eventually reverted to the mean  (like Norris Cole for the Heat or Lin for example).  Hope for the best, be prepared for anything. At worst, he'll be a rotation player I think which is good drafting for his spot, but I don't see a high probability of him being an elite player as I think of the term (perennial All-Star).