Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Avery Bradley had played a little more than half Curry’s 42 minutes, but it seemed like he was still guarding the Golden State shootist after the clubs left the parquet floor.
“He’s tough,” said Curry, a marked man after scoring 38 in Indiana on Tuesday and 54 the next night in New York. “That’s how he helps his team, just being able to pick up 94 feet. You prepare for it, but in the game when you’re trying to stay fresh and get the ball down the floor, he does try to take you out of your rhythm a little bit.”
Curry pointed to Bradley’s defensive consistency as different from others.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “He knows how he can help his team. Obviously he has an offensive game, but how many point guards will pick up that much and try to stay in you the whole game?”
Herald – Avery Bradley at his best
The answer to Curry’s question is none. No one hounds players like Avery Bradley. Just ask Jameer Nelson who once begged Bradley to ease up on the full court pressure.
Players around the league and the media have recognized Bradley’s greatness on defense, but when will the officials? They made two horrendous calls on Bradley in the 3rd quarter last night that forced Doc Rivers to sit his pit bull defender. Bradley does get grabby at times, but more often than not, he’s in the right position. Officials make a lot of calls based on player reputation. It’s time they come around on Avery and respect his reputation.
Related: CSNNE – Bradley clamps down on Curry | SB Nation – Defending Stephen Curry | WEEI – Bradley: I want to shut down everybody |
Another big story line from the game is Doc’s zone defense:
“[The zone] was a different look. Good shooting teams, you’ve got to be very, very talkative in the zone,” said Garnett. “I was kind of leery of it, but it was a different look. I thought it was a great call on Doc’s part. He and [assistant coach] Mike [Longabardi] made a great call and I thought it slowed them down and I thought they went to a more individual game. I thought that played into our favor. More importantly, we got stops when we had to get stops. We rebounded together and just came out with a win.”
Don’t you love how KG is skeptical of zone? The dude is a ridiculous creature of habit.
The rest of the links:
WEEI – Terry: My best basketball is ahead of me | Pierce gets attitude adjustment and Celtics pull away | Green: A hard fall woke me up | ESPN Boston – Randolph knows his role with Cs | Pierce is pain in neck for Warriors | Green gets hard wake up call | Herald – Crawford rates passing grade again | Green brings spark to Celtics | CSNNE – Right at home | Pierce playing in pain | Williams makes most of 2nd chance | MWDN – Defending their turf | Williams eager to make amends | Globe – Green a take charge guy | Celtics shine on defense
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