Let's get real about Avery..

[JHTruth]

I think we need to stop penciling him in for 15 ppg and DPOY in all of our projections. The guy is coming off double shoulder surgery and going to be fighting for PT with Lee and JET. Lee is taller, a good defender and superior shooter.

AB is going to have a tough year and we need to temper our expectations..

[Eja117]

my hope comes from that he was playing pretty well with totally banged up shoulders against very good players even before the surgery. With a good surgeon, a long rest, proper rehab and eating right this is a young guy that should heal up pretty well and I think he knows how to play.

[moiso]

By the time the playoffs start i think we can pencil him in for just about what he gave us last year.

[xmuscularghandix]

Avery is better than Lee and as soon as he's 100% he'll have his spot back. I think that's being pretty real.

[Sketch5]

I'd rather have AB as a bench 2 over Lee. mostly because of who'd he team up with.

 Lee is a better shooter than AB right now. So it makes more sense to have Lee teamed up with Rondo, who is getting better at shooting, but not knock down every night good. Terry is more of a shooting guard who can make plays because of his shooting. That works better for AB because teams have to respect Terry's shot, and then he can do his back door cuts like he was last season.

I think teams are going to stop AB's back cuts with Rondo on the floor because they will play off of Rondo more than they would with Terry.

Plus AB would give that defensive spark that shuts down the other teams second unit.

AB,Terry,Green,Bass/Sully, Darko, thats a very good second unit, you have the Def of AB and Darko, Terry and Green are decent defenders, and then offensively have Terry,Green,Bass/Sully. theres no reason why our second unit couldn't out score every other teams second unit in 90% of the games this year.

I like the idea of AB being that guy other teams can't plan for, you throw him in a game at any time and the other guard that is on the floor goes "oh $*%&"

[fairweatherfan]

I'm excited about Avery but I'm glad we've got the personnel to make his continued growth a major bonus rather than an essential part of our gameplan. 

Excellent play for a couple of months doesn't always mean that level of performance is here to stay.  Regression to the mean is a more likely outcome.

[indeedproceed]

I think we need to stop penciling him in for 15 ppg and DPOY in all of our projections. The guy is coming off double shoulder surgery and going to be fighting for PT with Lee and JET. Lee is taller, a good defender and superior shooter.

AB is going to have a tough year and we need to temper our expectations..

I don't think the majority of the site has that as a realistic projection.

We all know there is a minutes crunch there.

[cman88]

I dont get this idea that Bradley is going to be "fighting for minutes" when he comes back...he has proven himself and Doc will find a way to make it work...if he was playing that well with a TORN shoulder, who is to say he wont once they are fully healed?

Lee is a solid defender, but he isnt the level of defender that bradley is.

what bradley brings to the table is that he can check the opposing teams best guard, leaving Rondo to gamble like he likes to do.

[indeedproceed]

I dont get this idea that Bradley is going to be "fighting for minutes" when he comes back...he has proven himself and Doc will find a way to make it work...if he was playing that well with a TORN shoulder, who is to say he wont once they are fully healed?

By this logic though, Jeremy Lin will be an all-star PG in Houston. Its a small sample size, that might be an indicator of what is a projection for their careers going forward with big minutes. It might also be hot play at the right time, with a small regression due going forward.

Plus, Avery Bradley is coming back from double shoulder surgery at age 21. Who knows what that's gonna mean long-term.

Lee is a solid defender, but he isnt the level of defender that bradley is.

what bradley brings to the table is that he can check the opposing teams best guard, leaving Rondo to gamble like he likes to do.

I agree with these two things, although I think Courtney Lee's basement as a defender is higher than Bradley's, and I think people will by an large be pleased when they see what Lee looks like on the Garnett-led Celtics. Plus defenders 1,2,3, and 5.

[pearljammer10]

Yeah I'm totally with the OP on this one. Avery had a mediocre overall season last year and played above average for maybe 14 games. I think he will come back strong but people here are acting like Ron Artest and Allen Iverson had a baby, combined their talents, named him Russell Westbrook and signed him too the celtics.

I find it amazing that after 14 good games people think he is out savior, a candidate for DPOY and an all MBA defender and our ticket to banner 18. Lets see if he can get ahead lee first cause we all know terry is going to be in the lineup closing games for us.

[Kwhit10]

I don't care what his stats are.  I just want him to a lethal defender and hound the crap out of his man when he gets the ball, hit the corner three, and run with Rondo.

[ianboyextreme]

I'd rather have AB as a bench 2 over Lee. mostly because of who'd he team up with.

 Lee is a better shooter than AB right now. So it makes more sense to have Lee teamed up with Rondo, who is getting better at shooting, but not knock down every night good. Terry is more of a shooting guard who can make plays because of his shooting. That works better for AB because teams have to respect Terry's shot, and then he can do his back door cuts like he was last season.

I think teams are going to stop AB's back cuts with Rondo on the floor because they will play off of Rondo more than they would with Terry.

Plus AB would give that defensive spark that shuts down the other teams second unit.

AB,Terry,Green,Bass/Sully, Darko, thats a very good second unit, you have the Def of AB and Darko, Terry and Green are decent defenders, and then offensively have Terry,Green,Bass/Sully. theres no reason why our second unit couldn't out score every other teams second unit in 90% of the games this year.

I like the idea of AB being that guy other teams can't plan for, you throw him in a game at any time and the other guard that is on the floor goes "oh $*%&"

I dont want Avery shutting down the other team's second unit, I want him shutting down the best guard on the opposing team.

[ianboyextreme]

I dont get this idea that Bradley is going to be "fighting for minutes" when he comes back...he has proven himself and Doc will find a way to make it work...if he was playing that well with a TORN shoulder, who is to say he wont once they are fully healed?

By this logic though, Jeremy Lin will be an all-star PG in Houston. Its a small sample size, that might be an indicator of what is a projection for their careers going forward with big minutes. It might also be hot play at the right time, with a small regression due going forward.

Plus, Avery Bradley is coming back from double shoulder surgery at age 21. Who knows what that's gonna mean long-term.

Lee is a solid defender, but he isnt the level of defender that bradley is.

what bradley brings to the table is that he can check the opposing teams best guard, leaving Rondo to gamble like he likes to do.

I agree with these two things, although I think Courtney Lee's basement as a defender is higher than Bradley's, and I think people will by an large be pleased when they see what Lee looks like on the Garnett-led Celtics. Plus defenders 1,2,3, and 5.

Actually Avery played that way for half a season, Lin played that way for like 3 weeks.

[ianboyextreme]

Hes gonna shut every one up AGAIN. Stop doubting this kid.

[indeedproceed]

I dont get this idea that Bradley is going to be "fighting for minutes" when he comes back...he has proven himself and Doc will find a way to make it work...if he was playing that well with a TORN shoulder, who is to say he wont once they are fully healed?

By this logic though, Jeremy Lin will be an all-star PG in Houston. Its a small sample size, that might be an indicator of what is a projection for their careers going forward with big minutes. It might also be hot play at the right time, with a small regression due going forward.

Plus, Avery Bradley is coming back from double shoulder surgery at age 21. Who knows what that's gonna mean long-term.

Lee is a solid defender, but he isnt the level of defender that bradley is.

what bradley brings to the table is that he can check the opposing teams best guard, leaving Rondo to gamble like he likes to do.

I agree with these two things, although I think Courtney Lee's basement as a defender is higher than Bradley's, and I think people will by an large be pleased when they see what Lee looks like on the Garnett-led Celtics. Plus defenders 1,2,3, and 5.

Actually Avery played that way for half a season, Lin played that way for like 3 weeks.

I don't think its that disparate.

Lin: 25 games as a starter, 18 ppg, 8 assists
Bradley: 28 games as a starter.

Its true that Lin had some bad games as a starter as well, but more good games than bad games.