For years I have been disappointing by the clear and unfair bias against Avery Bradley on this forum.
When one of our guys goes on a great streak, everybody starts getting hyper excited. I've seen people go crazy over Sully early in the season, and when he goes through bad stretches so many people still stick by him.
I've seen guys go gaga over Crowder, and even if he's struggling offensively and turning the ball over at historical rate...people just excuse it and say "it's ok, because his defense is great".
Every time Smart has a great game there are 3 or 4 "Smart will be an All Star" threads that pop up, talking about how amazing Smart is going to be.
Amir Johnson has a few big games, and people are all like "Amir Johnson - DPOTY?!?!?!".
Yet with Avery Bradley, he never gets any of that love.
When he has a great game, nobody says a word. When he goes on a 10 point scoring flurry in the 4th quarter to bring us back in a game, nobody praises him. When he plays dominant defense for an entire game, nobody says a word. But the instant he gets one turnover, the hate pours in like molten lava from a volcano.
Do you guys know that over the past 5 games (since returning from Injury) Bradley is averaging 20.2 PPG (on 53% FG and 52% 3PT) in only 28 MPG? That's about 26 Points Per 36 Minutes.
Do you know that his +/- scores in those 5 games have been:
+22
+16
+7
+18
-2
Do you know that so far today, he has a game high 22 points (9-15 FG, 4-7 3PT ) in 21 minutes, and it's barely past half time?
For the season he is now averaging per 36 minute stats of 18.9 points, 2.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals to go with only 1.7 tunrnovers and 2.8 fouls. He's also shooting 46% FG and 43% from three.
Yet I'm looking here, and not a single thread about how well Bradley is playing lately. Not a single mention of just how well this 25 year old kid is right now, not a single shot of appreciation for what he has been doing.
The only one popping up is one from weeks ago, in which people are still mocking the idea of him becoming an All-Star.
I think it's sad, so I want to take this opportunity to give credit where it's due and say thank you, Avery Bradley, for all you do.