Very disappointed in Bradley

[DesertDweller]

I't couldn't have been any sooner after he signed that contract that Averly Bradley started playing like crap again. these lazy passes and haunting missed layups are just too hard to watch!!!  I really liked this guy and thought he was going to be a nice piece for this team moving forward.  it's now looking like a bunch of these pieces are shaky at best.  we need some proven talent, quickly!!!

At the time I thought the 32k over 4 years and the cap hit were fine but not the way this guy is playing!!!

[KeepRondo]

Welcome to the club.

[Rondo9]

So once he's slumping it's back to bashing I guess.....

[KeepRondo]

So once he's slumping it's back to bashing I guess.....

Are you trying to say we should ignore 20 mini slumps during the season?

[Tr1boy]

Ab is really a bench player. Next season cant see him starting

[pearljammer10]

So once he's slumping it's back to bashing I guess.....

When is he not slumping?

[Rondo9]

So once he's slumping it's back to bashing I guess.....

Are you trying to say we should ignore 20 mini slumps during the season?

Considering that people ignore it when he does good on the court......

[KJR]

at this point, the team just isn't fun to watch ... hard to find a bright spot

yes, I'm ready to pull the plug on the Bradley experience ... he must be the worst dribbling and passing 2-guard in the league ... seems like it's 50-50 for a breakaway dunk every time he puts the ball on the floor

Crowder has disappeared after one good game

Sully rocks backward while shooting 3's, doesn't go up square, hasn't improved his conditioning enough

only players I'm not disappointed in are Smart, Young, Bass and Wallace -- everyone else should be improving their play and playing harder

maybe it was necessary to trade Rondo and Green, but the current team is pretty thin gruel

[Yenohb]

I think it's just a combination of "He doesn't fit well on CBS style of play" and "He's playing with a bunch of average players". The 32M/4YR contract didn't help too.

[greenrunsdeep41]

Ab is really a bench player. Next season cant see him starting

This is what he is a high quality role player.. A bench guy that can come in and harass opposing guards, while knocking down his shots at a good rate. He could very well be our version of Manu.

I think the entire team is a bit disillusioned by losing its really hard to evaluate these guys right now based on the current state of the team.

[Rondo9]

Ab is really a bench player. Next season cant see him starting

This is what he is a high quality role player.. A bench guy that can come in and harass opposing guards, while knocking down his shots at a good rate. He could very well be our version of Manu.

Sounds like a starting player to me.

[Nerf DPOY]

Yeah, we needed another thread about this.

[kraidstar]

bradley is not a dynamic offensive player, but he creates his own shot better than he gets credit for, a lot of those pull-up shots he takes because there just isn't enough talent around him. this hurts his efficiency. he also doesn't vulture rebounds like rondo, if you watch bradley there's tons of plays where he and sully or whoever have an equal shot at an uncontested c's rebound, and bradley defers to the big almost every time. so i'd argue he's a slightly better rebounder than his stats show, too.
and IMO the "drop" in his defense is largely overstated, i think his defense is still excellent, it just gets lost in the shuffle because the team struggles to finish defensive possessions due to youthful mistakes, poorly-timed double teams, and lack of rim protection.
bradley will be fine once he gets some better pieces around him and he can just focus at what he's best at. he was a key contributor on a team that nearly dethroned the heat (and the c's probably win that series if bradley doesn't get hurt). if anything, i think he's improved his offensive versatility since then.

[Granath]

So once he's slumping it's back to bashing I guess.....

When is he not slumping?

TP (yeah, I hand them out freely).

Pretty much this.

Look, I've been a Bradley defender here and elsewhere for quite some time. I repeatedly defended his new contract. But facts are facts and 38 games into the 2014-2015 NBA season, Bradley isn't playing well. He's not a good ball handler and he doesn't rebound, so his scoring and his defense were his two assets.

Defense: This has always been Bradley's claim to fame, but he's not the same player. His lockdown defense isn't there anymore. I understand that might have something to do with the lack of support behind him, meaning he can't take as many chances. But I don't see the same defensive effort or emphasis. He's certainly not a bad defensive player, but he doesn't really earn his "defensive premium" on his contract nearly as much as expected.

Scoring: This is the big disappointment. Bradley improved his offensive statistics every year since he entered the league. Scoring, EFG, 3 point percentage...it was all headed in the right direction. That potential made the Bradley contract acceptable. With no #1 scorer, Bradley has had the opportunity to step up except he's stepped back. His scoring is down (14.9 to 12.8 ), his EFG is the same, his 3 point shooting is down considerably (.395 to .349) and he hasn't picked it up in any other way (rebounds are down, assists the same, steals down).

In short, he's regressed in almost every single way this season. It's not bashing, it's a demonstrable fact. He doesn't really look like a starter and he's not really earning his contract very well. It's not too late for him to turn it around because he's only 24. But I think the OP is right - Bradley has been a disappointment this season. There's nothing wrong with saying that.

[td450]

I think playing for this team is difficult, and I'm not a fan of the lack of consistent substitution patterns. I don't think you can say anyone on this team performs with any consistency on offense, and it is because everyone's minutes, shots and types of shots vary dramatically from game to game, probably more than any other team in the league.

I'm not sure if management wants this so they can keep trading options open, or if it is mostly a failure of the coach and the point guards, but it makes it very tough on younger players. If you miss 3 or 4 shots early, or if someone else is consuming most of the shots while you are in, you might play half as much that night.

Good teams establish roles, and hold players accountable for them from night to night.