In defense of Avery Bradley

[Evantime34]

A lot of people on this site (and Celtics fans in general), seem to be down on Avery Bradley after how he played in the playoffs. I wanted to post something in his defense because he is my favorite player on the team. Not only should the Celtics not look to trade him but I believe he will end up being a cornerstone of this franchise now and in the future.

With how Bradley played in the playoffs trading him now would be selling low not selling high. He certainly had a tough post season but to be fair there were reports he was playing hurt, he was playing out of position (which clearly effected him mentally) and the defense was set up so that on pick and rolls he would not get any help. If you watch replays KG rarely jumped out to stop Felton's drive for fear of giving up an open dunk to Chandler.

If you look at his regular season numbers Bradley was on of the best defenders in the entire NBA. His .73 points per possession ranks 16th in the NBA behind players without a big enough sample size to accurately gauge them. For a reference point the Defensive player of the year Marc Gasol allowed .76 points per possession, the most versatile defender in the league Lebron James gave up .86 PPP, Iman Shumpert who took the Celtics apart gave up the same percentage as LeBron and finally KG gave up the same mark as Gasol. If the Celtics are to maintain their defensive identity after KG is gone Bradley will be the catalyst.

On offense he obviously wasn't great this year but he is still only 22 and has a lot of room to grow. More importantly his best offense comes off of back cuts after Rondo drives. In his second year he missed Rondo, specifically the easy looks Rondo got him. Last year with Rondo Bradley had 67% of his baskets assisted and shot 49.8%. This year Bradley shot 40.6% with only 58.7% assisted. In other words this year he was asked to do something he wasn't comfortable with and it stunted his growth (playing pg)

Bradley will never be a fill it up scorer, however he is a guy that plays elite defense and let the game come to him. Try to think back on a time Bradley took a bad shot, you would be hard pressed to do so. Last year many prognosticators viewed him as one of the best off ball cutters in the league but that disappeared with the injury to Rajon Rondo. Bradley came into the league as someone who couldn't hit threes yet at age 22 in his third season he shot a respectable 32.2% from three. Damian Lillard who is considered a great shooter shot 36% at the same age in his rookie year. It would be ludicrous to think that Damian Lillard will not improve next year just as it is ridiculous to think Bradley won't improve at the same age.

Finally when you watch Bradley he is consistently one of the hardest working players on the court. This is a good indication as to how hard he works off the court. With this his first off season in which he didn't have surgery and will be able to train with the team you can expect his work ethic to do wonders for his game. Here is a quote about his off season work out regimen.

Now, if he could only find some willing workout partners.

"Nobody likes to work out with me, because I work so hard in the offseason, honestly," said Bradley.

Wait, because he can't downshift his defensive intensity, even in the summer?

"No, I just go hard, like three-a-days, sometimes four-a-days," said Bradley. "Most people know how hard I work out during the offseason. There's a reason why I go so hard all the time."

[Monkhouse]

I still don't understand why people can't believe a younger Center, Jeff Green, Sully, Bradley, and Rondo as our core can't compete... If we just have the right pieces and bench, we can certainly make some noise.

People are so easy at saying, "blow it up!"

Well guess what? We did try. Twice. Failed miserably, and we were set back even further, would 2007/2008 be a fluke if we had never pulled it off? Maybe who knows?

I see Bradley with the highest ceiling out of the entire core. 22 is a very young age, and you can easily grow more and more.

If anything for me, offense is harder to teach than defense. Yes the talent, and the gift of being able to comprehend the full extend of aggression and willingness to put the team on the back is naturally instilled. But you can still learn how to shoot, and set yourself up for a great shot after years of training.

But to me defense requires basketball IQ, and tenacity. Something Bradley has and yet Doc Rivers failed hard this year to be honest.

Why put AB as PG? He wasn't fit, and never was. We had decent ball handlers, T-Will/Crawford/Terry/Lee, but none of them were utilized as much until it was too late.

Bradley can be one of the best on ball defenders, and work on his corner 3's, and focus mainly on cutting.

I hope the last game of the Knicks vs Celtics, was a prime example what a healthy and tip top shaped AB can do.

[More Banners]

Bradley is getting past the "potential" phase of his career, and has shown himself to be a great role-playing 3rd guard.

He defends and slashes very well.

Adds to our problem:  too many midlevel journeymen role players with varying specialties, and a coach that wants a core to ride.

Doc needs 5 clear starters and 3-4 versatile, multi-position bench players.

[Who]

I think it would be the wrong time to Bradley too.

I expect Avery Bradley has much more value as a player than he does a trade asset.

[Roy H.]

I think there are extreme posters on both sides regarding Bradley, and as is usually the case, the truth falls somewhere in between.

Bradley isn't nearly as bad as he looked in the post-season.  I don't think he's nearly as good as he was for his stretch toward the end of last year, either.  I don't think he's untouchable in a trade, or that he's destined to become a star.  At the same time, I agree that now is the wrong time to trade him, and that his upside is a lot more than some are suggesting.  For defensive purposes alone, Bradley should have a long career.

[Evantime34]

I think there are extreme posters on both sides regarding Bradley, and as is usually the case, the truth falls somewhere in between.

Bradley isn't nearly as bad as he looked in the post-season.  I don't think he's nearly as good as he was for his stretch toward the end of last year, either.  I don't think he's untouchable in a trade, or that he's destined to become a star.  At the same time, I agree that now is the wrong time to trade him, and that his upside is a lot more than some are suggesting.  For defensive purposes alone, Bradley should have a long career.

You are right, and I don't want to seem like I am saying he is untouchable. If he is traded in a deal for a star like Kevin Love I would drive him to the airport myself. However if we are truly going to blow it up I want him around to spread his infectious defensive energy to a new host of Celtics.

[Boris Badenov]

With all I've seen, I do think his best role is off the bench, where (a) he can exert full energy for 25-30 minutes, and (b) his role can be adapted to the personnel he's playing against (notably whether the opposing SG is small enough for him to guard).

He'd be kind of like Vinnie Johnson on Detroit, but opposite in the sense of emphasizing D. He'd come in an disrupt the other team's offense. We could call him "The Cooler."

In that role, and with work to get his 3 point shooting into the 38% range, he can be a valuable piece on a championship team.

On this Celtics team, as I've said many times, I think he and Rondo are a poor fit as starters because the current style of play in the league relies so heavily on 3 point shooting.

But as a 3rd guard with an offensive-minded, good-shooting SG in the starting spot opposite Rondo, I think he's very, very good.

I also vote against trading him now. Don't sell low.

[LGC88]

Some people seem to forget how he contained Westbrook. Who else can do that?
Most importantly, the guy have the potential to be a TA type and hopefully better if he can play the 3 ball. And to top it of, he's being paid peanuts for now. No way you trade him unless someone make a ridiculous offer. Same goes with Green.

[fandrew]

I think there are extreme posters on both sides regarding Bradley, and as is usually the case, the truth falls somewhere in between.

Bradley isn't nearly as bad as he looked in the post-season.  I don't think he's nearly as good as he was for his stretch toward the end of last year, either.  I don't think he's untouchable in a trade, or that he's destined to become a star.  At the same time, I agree that now is the wrong time to trade him, and that his upside is a lot more than some are suggesting.  For defensive purposes alone, Bradley should have a long career.

I think this is mostly right. The only thing that I disagree with is that I felt that the end of last year was as good as he will get offensively. With someone to pass him the ball on cuts. I felt as though last year was more or less his offensive ceiling in terms of output, and perhaps being a 4th or fifth option on a team. And like everyone else, now is a horrible time to trade him. He still has yet to have a full healthy summer and training camp like he does this year. I think by the end of next year we will know what we have with Bradley for the most part. And I am interested in seeing just how much he can improve over a healthy off season, and an 82 game season.

[Monkhouse]

Despite all the talks of trading Lee. If we don't trade Lee, or part with him I'd like to start him over Bradley at SG. That way Bradley can put all the defensive pressure on the 6th man or any SG's for that matter.

[pearljammer10]

At this point I can't defend anything Avery Bradley does.

[Monkhouse]

At this point I can't defend anything Avery Bradley does.

I mean you gotta cut him some slack though, Bradley is only 22 coming off a double shoulder injury, which he might've injured a little bit, due to all the defensive pressure he endured.

[Roy H.]

The only thing that I disagree with is that I felt that the end of last year was as good as he will get offensively.

Well, he shot 55% from three in April, and 52% overall that month.  I just don't think that's sustainable.  Yet, somewhere along the way, many fans got the idea that that's Bradley's baseline.

*Maybe* he can someday average 15ppg again, but he's not going to do it shooting those percentages.

[ianboyextreme]

A lot of people on this site (and Celtics fans in general), seem to be down on Avery Bradley after how he played in the playoffs. I wanted to post something in his defense because he is my favorite player on the team. Not only should the Celtics not look to trade him but I believe he will end up being a cornerstone of this franchise now and in the future.

With how Bradley played in the playoffs trading him now would be selling low not selling high. He certainly had a tough post season but to be fair there were reports he was playing hurt, he was playing out of position (which clearly effected him mentally) and the defense was set up so that on pick and rolls he would not get any help. If you watch replays KG rarely jumped out to stop Felton's drive for fear of giving up an open dunk to Chandler.

If you look at his regular season numbers Bradley was on of the best defenders in the entire NBA. His .73 points per possession ranks 16th in the NBA behind players without a big enough sample size to accurately gauge them. For a reference point the Defensive player of the year Marc Gasol allowed .76 points per possession, the most versatile defender in the league Lebron James gave up .86 PPP, Iman Shumpert who took the Celtics apart gave up the same percentage as LeBron and finally KG gave up the same mark as Gasol. If the Celtics are to maintain their defensive identity after KG is gone Bradley will be the catalyst.

On offense he obviously wasn't great this year but he is still only 22 and has a lot of room to grow. More importantly his best offense comes off of back cuts after Rondo drives. In his second year he missed Rondo, specifically the easy looks Rondo got him. Last year with Rondo Bradley had 67% of his baskets assisted and shot 49.8%. This year Bradley shot 40.6% with only 58.7% assisted. In other words this year he was asked to do something he wasn't comfortable with and it stunted his growth (playing pg)

Bradley will never be a fill it up scorer, however he is a guy that plays elite defense and let the game come to him. Try to think back on a time Bradley took a bad shot, you would be hard pressed to do so. Last year many prognosticators viewed him as one of the best off ball cutters in the league but that disappeared with the injury to Rajon Rondo. Bradley came into the league as someone who couldn't hit threes yet at age 22 in his third season he shot a respectable 32.2% from three. Damian Lillard who is considered a great shooter shot 36% at the same age in his rookie year. It would be ludicrous to think that Damian Lillard will not improve next year just as it is ridiculous to think Bradley won't improve at the same age.

Finally when you watch Bradley he is consistently one of the hardest working players on the court. This is a good indication as to how hard he works off the court. With this his first off season in which he didn't have surgery and will be able to train with the team you can expect his work ethic to do wonders for his game. Here is a quote about his off season work out regimen.

Now, if he could only find some willing workout partners.

"Nobody likes to work out with me, because I work so hard in the offseason, honestly," said Bradley.

Wait, because he can't downshift his defensive intensity, even in the summer?

"No, I just go hard, like three-a-days, sometimes four-a-days," said Bradley. "Most people know how hard I work out during the offseason. There's a reason why I go so hard all the time."

Totally agree. Avery Bradley will be an integral part of the next championship we win.

[ianboyextreme]

I think it would be the wrong time to Bradley too.

I expect Avery Bradley has much more value as a player than he does a trade asset.

No need to "expect" that. We KNOW since weve seen it over the last two years. He changes the defense monumentally.