Did Rondo's absence exposed Avery's flaws?

[SHAQATTACK]

I disagree,  AB is going to become a better shooter, he was starting to hit his stride before his double surgery.  His first year he was horrible at everything, he is still a kid.. 

Try coming back from double shoulder surgery and even playing as well as he has. 

He has been under huge pressure to return to his old defensive self and yet make offense with two rebuilt shoulders 

Give me a break ,   AB, WILCOX and Green are doing their part considering most of us mortal humans would be lucky to make it to our desk jobs without whining.

Same with Sully next season,   back surgery is tuff stuff,  like D12 its gonna take him a while to get back maybe a full year  ..... and people will be boo-hoo about his comeback as well ,  his energy will be down , his shot way off , ect...for at least 1/2 a season.

AB is flawed , but no one else I 'd rather have , that the CELTICS can actually sign  or who would want to come to Boston .

We are [dang] lucky to have AB.....an exciting player.




 

[connor]

It's not that AB is a bad offensive player, its just that his game is still developing. His defense was NBA ready when he got to the league but he was still finding his shooting stroke.

I'm actually really encouraged by his progress despite the fact that he is still very inconsistent. He had a very good mid-range game at Texas and was a strong cutter to the basket. When he first started seeing minutes he didn't shoot, at least now he has the confidence to fire away. He has shown that he can hit that corner three and be fairly good with 12-18 feet range.

Give it time and he will improve some (not sure if he is ever going to be an offensive force, but definitely adequate).

Rondo certainly helped AB's game by finding him on cuts to the basket and getting him the ball in his spot. Right now he is playing PG when he really is best off the ball at SG.

For a young kid who has had to deal with a ton of injuries, playing out of position and used to having arguably the best assist man in the league feeding him, I think he is doing alright. 

[Chief]

The kid is just not a point guard.

[Clench123]

I disagree,  AB is going to become a better shooter, he was starting to hit his stride before his double surgery.  His first year he was horrible at everything, he is still a kid.. 

Try coming back from double shoulder surgery and even playing as well as he has. 

He has been under huge pressure to return to his old defensive self and yet make offense with two rebuilt shoulders 

Give me a break ,   AB, WILCOX and Green are doing their part considering most of us mortal humans would be lucky to make it to our desk jobs without whining.

Same with Sully next season,   back surgery is tuff stuff,  like D12 its gonna take him a while to get back maybe a full year  ..... and people will be boo-hoo about his comeback as well ,  his energy will be down , his shot way off , ect...for at least 1/2 a season.

AB is flawed , but no one else I 'd rather have , that the CELTICS can actually sign  or who would want to come to Boston .

We are [dang] lucky to have AB.....an exciting player.

He was able to hit his stride on the offensive end because he was on the court with Rondo.  Watch majority of it...off of Rondo.

[mgent]

Mainly his offense.  He was never really an offense specialist but Rondo made him look good on that end when he was around (because Rondo had to do a lot of work in getting guys open anyways).  Rondo's haters always like to point out how Avery's defense covers for Rondo's flaws but I think it goes the other way than anything else.  Besides Bass and KG, Avery is another one I think suffers from Rondo's absence.  In this regard, I think they really complement eachother.

Rondo is the best open-shot creator in the NBA. Everyone around him suffers from his absence.

Yawn.

Not every NBA player wants to catch-and-shoot with 3 seconds on the shot clock every time they get the ball.


You think Kobe or LeBron would be better NBA players alongside Rondo? No chance.



Avery is clearly struggling right now, and I don't think it has anything to do with who he is or isn't playing with. It's between his ears. His offense is gone and he is forcing every shot and it is also affecting his D.

Can you tell us in what universe Kobe/LeBron wouldn't be better basketball players?  Do you have any clue what a 1-4 pick and roll with Rondo and LeBron would do to a defense?

Even Dwight Howard, a guy who prefers not to catch the ball in motion and wants set up his own shots by backing down has said he wants Rondo as a teammate.

Last year Kobe shot 43% with Sessions/Fisher.  This year he's shot 47% with Nash.  A guy like Rondo is exactly what Kobe needs to keep him from jacking shots and get the most out of the end of his career.

[feckless]

AB was a mediocre 2 guard and mediocre back-up point guard, who specialized in defense.  His role as primary point, because Rondo is out, has hurt his offense, shooting and finishing.  Rondo may have gotten him better shots but I think it is focus, concentration and significantly different and larger responsibilities that show where he has to grow.  He makes young, inexperienced mistakes becuase he now has responsibilities he has never had before.

[RJ87]

Mainly his offense.  He was never really an offense specialist but Rondo made him look good on that end when he was around (because Rondo had to do a lot of work in getting guys open anyways).  Rondo's haters always like to point out how Avery's defense covers for Rondo's flaws but I think it goes the other way than anything else.  Besides Bass and KG, Avery is another one I think suffers from Rondo's absence.  In this regard, I think they really complement eachother.

I literally was just thinking about posting a thread on this. TP. To me, I think Rondo and Bradley really complement each other in that their strengths allows the other to play in a way they're comfortable with:

Defensively, everyone moans and groans about Rondo gambling for steals. But when you have him next to Bradley and Bradley is applying full court pressure to opposing PGs, it allows Rondo to play off the ball and wreak havoc in the passing lanes.

Offensively, Avery is a much more dynamic player when he's off the ball. When he has to think, he forces it. When Rondo's in, Avery can go back to random cuts and exploiting gaps in the defense. With Rondo's court vision and ability to find passing angles, it allows Avery to get easier looks at the rim and he's a more efficient scorer.

They definitely have a yin/yang effect on one another.

[ScottHow]

Wait...what's going on here? A thread giving Rondo some love?!? 

Crazy.

I'd say Bradley is missing him quite a bit. Now the only easy baskets he gets is on clean steals, he has probably the worst handle for a starting pg in the league, and he's not hitting his open corner threes.

[StartOrien]

The kid is just not a point guard.

This. And having to take on the duty of playing a point guard has taken him out of his comfort zone.

Bradley is the type of player who is meant to be on a team with Rondo - he's a brilliant slasher and can hit an open shot. In my opinion having to take on those extra duties have made him think too much on the court, to the point where now, even a layup isn't a sure thing for the guy.

This is why I'd like to see Jet take over more of the ball handling duties.

[Moranis]

When was Bradley a good offensive player?  I mean seriously.  Bradley has always been a very limited offensive player.  And the reason he is playing PG is because he isn't big enough to start and play 35 minutes against opposing SG's.  He also isn't a good enough ball handler to be a starting PG.  Those are Bradley's flaws and they have always been and always will be his flaws.  He is a nice solid 6th man/spot starter player.  Nothing more, nothing less, and his elevation to superstar on this board always cracked me up.

[StartOrien]

When was Bradley a good offensive player? I mean seriously.  Bradley has always been a very limited offensive player.  And the reason he is playing PG is because he isn't big enough to start and play 35 minutes against opposing SG's.  He also isn't a good enough ball handler to be a starting PG.  Those are Bradley's flaws and they have always been and always will be his flaws.  He is a nice solid 6th man/spot starter player.  Nothing more, nothing less, and his elevation to superstar on this board always cracked me up.

Last year. He was very good.

[Chris]

When was Bradley a good offensive player? I mean seriously.  Bradley has always been a very limited offensive player.  And the reason he is playing PG is because he isn't big enough to start and play 35 minutes against opposing SG's.  He also isn't a good enough ball handler to be a starting PG.  Those are Bradley's flaws and they have always been and always will be his flaws.  He is a nice solid 6th man/spot starter player.  Nothing more, nothing less, and his elevation to superstar on this board always cracked me up.

Last year. He was very good.

Eh, last year he had a relatively small sample size of hot shooting, and in general he took advantage of defenses completely ignoring him offensively. 

I think he has been significantly better offensively this year, its just that defenses are actually watching him a bit more, which makes him less efficient. 

[Moranis]

When was Bradley a good offensive player? I mean seriously.  Bradley has always been a very limited offensive player.  And the reason he is playing PG is because he isn't big enough to start and play 35 minutes against opposing SG's.  He also isn't a good enough ball handler to be a starting PG.  Those are Bradley's flaws and they have always been and always will be his flaws.  He is a nice solid 6th man/spot starter player.  Nothing more, nothing less, and his elevation to superstar on this board always cracked me up.

Last year. He was very good.

No he wasn't.  He was better in his role off the bench and in limited minutes, but he wasn't anywhere near very good.  His playoffs from last is much more indicative of his overall offensive ability, which are fairly close to his averages this year.

Bradley is best as a bench player in limited minutes.

[Chris]

Bradley is best as a bench player in limited minutes.

I disagree with this.  I think he can be a very good starter.  He brings so much defensively, and can at worst be hidden offensively.  The problem is, with the injuries they have, the C's are asking more from him offensively than he is capable of.

Basically, he can be a Bruce Bowen/Tony Allen type. 

[CelticsFan9]

Offensively, yes.  Bradley has to do much more than he's capable of doing, and it's made him look poor on that end.