Avery Bradley Discussion

His numbers didn't really show It because he really turned it up just before the bubble and of course, opted not to go. He would have been a great help but luckily we didn't really need it. The 17 games prior to the bubble he was:
11 PTS 48.5% 3PT%, 4 3P attempts per game 0.4 turnovers
Very efficient and his D was on point

 

go look up his shot attempts. it doesn't answer causation, but he's converting similarly, just not taking as many shots. my guess is teams just realized that while he *could* get 15 points per game, they were better off using their offensive possessions differently.

weirdly enough, he's been plus-defender only 3 times in his career, the last coming 6 years ago, and he's never (!) been a plus on offense unless you count his 14 games with memphis. totally counter to the prevailing narrative. it's going to sound like haterade, but i blame some of it on the press. guys that play for boston get a lot of unearned glory from big media outlets, and i think bradley got a story constructed about him that was largely fable. had patrick beverly played for boston, he might have gotten a max contract from someone!

 

he was definitely a little more athletic as a younger player, which i think translated to better on-ball defense. his effort is still there, but dudes can roast him in isolation in ways they didn't when he was 22.

his offense looks pretty similar to me, though again, in his scoring heyday, i believe he took more midrange shots off the dribble. that shot has been largely phased out for non-stars (probably for good reason), and his declining athleticism probably wouldn't make it a good weapon anyway (see his nothing but glass fast break pullup the other night).

i like bradley, but he's been on vet mins for a reason. we seem to know how to use him, but i wonder if it's mostly for motivational purposes. if our stars would just routinely play hard, we could probably start ellington or reaves instead of bradley and be better off for it.

 

Exactly the correct assessment.

I've been watching Bradley for awhile.

This is it.

 

This was always a mystery why his defensive metrics looked poor when the eye test showed that this guy was a good to really good 1v1 defender. Someone pointed out it's likely due to his size/rebounding. When he's not on ball, his closeout lack the length to bother shooters and he's been a poor rebounder. Rebounding generally leads to better defensive (you get more possessions plus offensive rebounds generally lead to good looks). On the Lakers (well not this team which refuses to box out unless your name is Austin Reaves) the rebounding issue was negated the bubble season.

 

His shot and the confidence in his shot is really steady right now. Hopefully the roller coaster ride that is his offensive game stays positive for a minute.

The swings are so wild with him. He's either our best 3 point shooter or unplayable

 

And another one...

 

This COVID stuff is ridiculous at this point. What on earth is a close contact (when that's what keeps people out) when they all share locker rooms, planes, etc.

If you don't have symptoms and you're vaccinated, what is the issue? I honestly don't get it. A lot of these tests are flimsy at best as well.

 

This helps explain bringing the Midget back .... our guards are dropping like flies. Not to mention all the group hugging and yelling in the free for all following AR-15's shot last night.

 

I don’t think these players are going into protocol just due to close contact. Pretty sure they all tested positive.

We also don’t know if they’re all asymptomatic. Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris recently got Covid, also vaccinated, and had a terrible time.

Even if they are asymptomatic and vaccinated, if they are testing positive and legitimately infected, they can still spread it. Letting them play in an arena with thousands, traveling to crowded cities, etc is not wise. Especially with Omicron being so new and is not having the most data on it.

I don’t like this for our team either, but burying our heads in the sand and letting everyone play through it is not the solution.

 

Yep that's what's going on ... the gift that keeps on giving from our friends in China. Just stating a fact, not getting political, that's where it came from. Organically or accidentally or not accidentally. Also read this morning the arenas are going to have to cut back to 50% capacity likely. Last thing the NBA wants is to Bubble again.

 

I think we are headed towards another bubble. Kings had to shutdown practice today. We lost another two guys, now sitting at 5 out with covid. Bulls/Nets have been playing 8 guys for the past week or two. Toronto vs Detroit today is postponed…

 

Did someone say bubble?

 

The NFL is going to be a test for backlash on the COVID stuff. NBA will wait and see.