Avery Bradley getting Praise

[Phantom255x]

Damian Lillard
“@LAXNeddrick: @Dame_Lillard which players gives you the toughest time to score on” Avery bradley got cuffs lol

See guys, Lillard knows what's up. Bradley is one of the best lockdown defenders in the NBA right now.

[Rondo9]

Wait until someone says: "But Bradley is an overrated defender!!!!"

[rondohondo]

* Bradley is a great on ball defender when he is guarding PG's. When he has to guard legit SG's with size , or has to use energy on the offensive end, he is a very normal defender .

[DraftSmart33]

* Bradley is a great on ball defender when he is guarding PG's. When he has to guard legit SG's with size , or has to use energy on the offensive end, he is a very normal defender .

Do you have data on that or is that just your thinking? Links?

[Celtics4ever]

He is a good player when he is on the court which is 70% of the time.  Hopefully, he kicks the injury bug.

[TeamGreen.dm]

Its players with size that give him problems. AB needs to hit the weight room and bulk up a little to go along with his elite defensive skill set

[bobbyv]

* Bradley is a great on ball defender when he is guarding PG's. When he has to guard legit SG's with size , or has to use energy on the offensive end, he is a very normal defender .

Do you have data on that or is that just your thinking? Links?

I think he's right to some degree. We saw him struggle in the playoff series vs the Knicks, and it was only until the last few games when he didn't have to play PG that he was able to become a defensive game changer again. Same with 2011-2012 season when he was able to just focus on defending PGs. He struggled defending bigger players like Raymond Felton and JR Smith. Hopefully getting bigger/adding more muscle will help him

[hwangjini_1]

it will be interesting to see him paired with marcus smart. bradley can cover the pg. smart the sg.

[Kuberski33]

* Bradley is a great on ball defender when he is guarding PG's. When he has to guard legit SG's with size , or has to use energy on the offensive end, he is a very normal defender .

Do you have data on that or is that just your thinking? Links?

I think he's right to some degree. We saw him struggle in the playoff series vs the Knicks, and it was only until the last few games when he didn't have to play PG that he was able to become a defensive game changer again. Same with 2011-2012 season when he was able to just focus on defending PGs. He struggled defending bigger players like Raymond Felton and JR Smith. Hopefully getting bigger/adding more muscle will help him

Actually I think it was the final quarter of the last game of that series where he finally looked like his old self.  The guy's just not a PG.  I think he's proven that.  On the other hand, he's done a great job guarding a healthy/younger Dwayne Wade, so he can match up with bigger guys when he has to.

[Smokeeye123]

Bradley should focus on ball handling the next 2 years...If he was good with the ball in his hands he could be a borderline star.

[DraftSmart33]

I think its fair to say that Bradley had a hard time with Felton...but I wouldn't go so far as to make a blanket statement about who he can't guard in the NBA.  Give me the facts and I'll buy in, but in the games I've watched he's been a pain is #$$ for 99% of the players he's matched up against.  (D.Wade is a big 2-guard who would probably agree with me).

[hpantazo]

Now that we are stuck with him for the foreseeable future, I am back on the Bradley bandwagon. I'm hoping that having a 4 year guaranteed contract makes him comfortable enough to stop forcing shots and go back to doing what he does best.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I think its fair to say that Bradley had a hard time with Felton...but I wouldn't go so far as to make a blanket statement about who he can't guard in the NBA.  Give me the facts and I'll buy in, but in the games I've watched he's been a pain is #$$ for 99% of the players he's matched up against.  (D.Wade is a big 2-guard who would probably agree with me).

I think the Felton issue was an abnormality. Bradley wasn't putting the defensive effort we were used to seeing, and it was quite obvious to me. Part of the reason was that he was focusing too much on doing things well running the point in Rondo's absence that he simply wasn't focused defensively as he usually is... in part, he wasn't pressuring the ball, which is his main weapon.

If Bradley actually defended well, and Felton got his, then I'd give up the point. But this was more of an issue on how Bradley was playing than anything else.

[Ogaju]

* Bradley is a great on ball defender when he is guarding PG's. When he has to guard legit SG's with size , or has to use energy on the offensive end, he is a very normal defender .

Do you have data on that or is that just your thinking? Links?

I think he's right to some degree. We saw him struggle in the playoff series vs the Knicks, and it was only until the last few games when he didn't have to play PG that he was able to become a defensive game changer again. Same with 2011-2012 season when he was able to just focus on defending PGs. He struggled defending bigger players like Raymond Felton and JR Smith. Hopefully getting bigger/adding more muscle will help him

you cannot have it all. If he gets bigger and adds weight he will lose some of the quickness and agility that allow him to do what he does to PGs on defense.

[Ogaju]

Now that we are stuck with him for the foreseeable future, I am back on the Bradley bandwagon. I'm hoping that having a 4 year guaranteed contract makes him comfortable enough to stop forcing shots and go back to doing what he does best.

AB is one of the players that missed Rondo the most. Those hard back cuts to the basket when Rondo was playing was one of the keys that kept Ray Allen on the bench after his injury.