bradley-hornets

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

…Bradley is still only 25 years old. He’s the youngest player in Boston’s starting lineup. In fact, despite being drafted 19th overall in 2010, he’s only five months older than 2013 draft pick Kelly Olynyk.

So maybe it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Bradley’s game is still evolving. His offensive evolution flies a bit under the radar, especially after Bradley elevated to the NBA All-Defensive first team last season.

Bradley’s scoring average climbed to a career-best 15.2 points per game last season. Through two games this season, he’s perfect on corner 3-pointers (5 of 5), and he’s shooting 53.8 percent (7-of-13) in the area above the break, where the 3-point line becomes an arc.

ESPN Boston: Avery Bradley states case for respect at both ends of court

“That’s my mindset this year,” Bradley said. “Trying to expand my game, rebound the ball, pass the ball, make plays for others, and go to the basket. I’m just trying to improve my game. I work on it every single summer and now I need to put it in the game.”

“I’m just trying to be aggressive,” Bradley added. “Like I said, trying to affect the game in every way on the defensive end and the offensive end. I just want to help our team as much as I can, and I understand that I could do more as far as rebounding and getting others involved. And that’s what I’m going to be doing this entire year.”

MassLive: Avery Bradley takes over fourth quarter, shows off improved skills against Charlotte Hornets

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the latest edition of “Small Sample Size Theater”…

Today… we look at Avery Bradley’s offense… and this screen shot from his Basketball-Reference page

bradley-summary

As you can plainly see, Avery is playing WAAAAYYYY above what his career numbers would have suggested. He’s putting up All Star-level numbers here. He’s second on the team in scoring and assists and, improbably, the team’s leading rebounder.

Are any of these numbers sustainable? Well, probably not. He’s not going to be grabbing nine boards a game all year long and the 3-point shooting will probably not sit at 67% come March. But there are a lot of really encouraging signs here.

1: He’s getting such clean looks, and making the most of them. As Chris Forsberg noted in his piece, Al Horford has assisted on 6 Bradley buckets so far this year, twice the number of any other teammates. The Al Horford effect is real, and it’s spectacular for Bradley because he’s got a lot of extra space.

2: Avery Bradley can dribble now. It wasn’t too long ago that I applied my Tony Allen “two dribble” rule to Bradley. The rule is simply that Allen has only two good dribbles in him on any given touch, and after two dribbles all bets are off and disaster is likely to ensue. Bradley simply could NOT put the ball on the floor effectively in his first few years in the league, and it basically restricted him to being a spot up guy or a cutter who scored along the baseline. Now, Bradley can drive on defenders and get good looks. Here’s a look at his scoring from last night.

Avery Bradley was scorching hot behind the 3 point line today (8/11 3PT, 31 points) #BHSplayback #Celtics #Hornets #BuzzCity pic.twitter.com/AclI3Cd5wa

— Brotherhood Studios (@wearebhstudios) October 30, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

You can see not only is he effective as a catch-and-shoot option, he’s coming off screens and stepping right into his shot, he’s giving himself space with the dribble, and even driving on Kemba Walker for a tough finish that he probably wouldn’t have tried a couple of years ago. Which leads me to point #3:

Avery Bradley seems (*grasps for the right word*) calmer on his shots this season.

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 30, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Bradley is the longest-tenured Celtic. He was here before Brad Stevens. He’s been through a lot of upheaval in the roster. He’s seen a lot and, as noted at the top, he’s still only 25 years old. So he’s just entering his athletic prime. It make sense that he calmer out there because his body can finally do the things he wants it to do without him thinking too much about it.

One of the hardest things for observers of sports to comprehend is that players aren’t finished products in the early 20’s. We, from fans to bloggers to beat writers, can often fall into traps with younger players where we see their flaws and apply them to the player forever. What Avery Bradley is showing is that a guy can work on those flaws and correct things and slowly grow into a high-quality player that will eventually not resemble who he was at the beginning of his career.

Avery Bradley’s offense has evolved. And even though some of those wild numbers are obviously not sustainable, the higher production is probably here to stay. Pretty soon, the league won’t just be looking at Bradley as a defensive guy who contributes on offense. He has to be regarded as a legitimate two-way player in the league.

Page 2: Oh crap… not this already…

With 1:32 left in a 104-98 win against the Charlotte Hornets, Thomas took a hard fall after finishing a layup over two opposing big men. He grimaced before getting up and could be spotted later wincing in the locker room.

“Man that reminded me of that Miami game a couple years ago,” Thomas said, referencing a game in which he bruised his tailbone, ultimately causing him to miss eight games. “I didn’t fall as hard (against Charlotte) but it definitely hurt and I got treatment just a little bit ago. Hopefully the plane doesn’t screw it up too much but I’ll be all right.”

MassLive: Isaiah Thomas needed treatment after hard fall against Charlotte Hornets

Isaiah Thomas falls way too much.

That’s his game, though… that’s how he is as good as he is. He has to attack and launch himself and contort his body in crazy ways to score against all those guys who’ve got a foot or more on him. He has no choice but to throw himself into the crowd and find slivers of light where he can slip the ball past people and off the glass in inconceivable ways.

This is who he is. And he’s going to fall a lot being this guy.

That’s pretty scary.

Last night it happened again. It wasn’t as bad as the Miami game, but he fell hard like this last season and scared the crap out of us too. And this is just his tailbone. What about his shooting wrist that always seem to be sore from a fall?

I love Isaiah Thomas. This guy has embraced being a Celtic like no one has. He loves Boston as much as Boston loves him… maybe more. But man I’m tired of watching him fall.

Unfortunately, him falling is the only way he can play.

And Finally…

Brad Stevens got a tech last night and shocked the hell out of everyone…

“Even Al [Horford] said something on the bench,” Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas said. “He was surprised that Brad got it. But he was like, ‘You need that every now and then.’ Brad shows that every now and then, every blue moon. We probably won’t see it for another 50 games.”

Thomas was asked if Stevens seems more on edge this season than he has in previous years.

“A little more,” Thomas said. “I just think with all the expectations, he expects a lot out of us. So when we’re not doing our job, he’s on us a lot more than he has in the past.”

I’ve been saying for months now that something is different about Brad Stevens. He’s more sarcastic in the press… he’s more fired up on the sidelines… he’s just more out there. I think he’s picking up some personality traits from his bff Gregg Popovich.