next »

[rutzan]

love AB, his defense, his energy and his intensity...and...at the same time...he has gotten a pass...especially at celtic blog...where green, bass, terry, lee and even rondo and pierce have gone under the hot, vitriolic and scathing knife that is celtic blog...so beside defense where does AB make his mark and become an impact player...which i think he will and i hope he will...he avg's 1.5 reb/gm and 1.0 assts/gm while shooting 34.6% from 3-pt land for his career...so...that really only leaves scoring/slashing...he is taking 8.5 shots per game while shooting a low 40.2%...i think he will need to take and make more shots to become an impact player...but...shots will be hard to come by with terry, lee and barbosa...interesting note...barbosa took 10 shots today...2nd to pierce...not complaining...so..do the celtics need to call ab's number more...or...run more?

[danglertx]

You don't need every player to score.  Two guys can be defensive guys and the other three run the offense.  He hits the corner three well enough that you can't just leave him.

[wdleehi]

His job is to make an impact on defense and be respectable on offense. 


He has recently come back from injury. 



He has space for growth. 




As far as I can see, he is playing the role that he is capable and asked to play.

[Celtics4ever]

Defensively, he is an impact player.

[CelticConcourse]

He already is an impact player on D.

[kozlodoev]

I'm pretty sure Bradley won't become considerably "more impact" than he is already.

[PhoSita]

I reject your premise.  He's already making a pretty large impact.

He's a role player, sure, but one that is vital to the success of this team moving forward.

[alajet]

He's a Tony Allen with less defensive upside and better shooting motion. Quality rotation player at worst and at best, so, he's an impact player probably.

[clover]

love AB, his defense, his energy and his intensity...and...at the same time...he has gotten a pass...especially at celtic blog...where green, bass, terry, lee and even rondo and pierce have gone under the hot, vitriolic and scathing knife that is celtic blog...so beside defense where does AB make his mark and become an impact player...which i think he will and i hope he will...he avg's 1.5 reb/gm and 1.0 assts/gm while shooting 34.6% from 3-pt land for his career...so...that really only leaves scoring/slashing...he is taking 8.5 shots per game while shooting a low 40.2%...i think he will need to take and make more shots to become an impact player...but...shots will be hard to come by with terry, lee and barbosa...interesting note...barbosa took 10 shots today...2nd to pierce...not complaining...so..do the celtics need to call ab's number more...or...run more?

The dude just turned 22 this season and is just now back playing after about as long an injury break as Green had.  (E.g., he's been back for 16 games now and has shot .379 from the 3 over the past 10 of those games.)  Sure, his shooting numbers are down right now, but he had great averages last year (.498 FG% and .407 3PT%) in his first real year playing in the NBA.

I don't expect him to ever be a team's first or second offensive option, but already at age 21 he was a very efficient shooter for a guard.

[PhoSita]

He's a Tony Allen with less defensive upside and better shooting motion. Quality rotation player at worst and at best, so, he's an impact player probably.

Less defensive upside?  I can't really agree with that.  Are you basing that just on the fact that he's an inch or two shorter than TA?  Bradley is a much smarter player, for starters.  I think it's fair to say his upside is better on both ends of the floor.

I think Bradley's ceiling is as the best guard defender in the game with an offensive game pretty similar to Courtney Lee -- 12-14 pts a night on 45 / 40 / 80 shooting.

[scaryjerry]

Uhhhhh he's made an impact...his late game d on Jamal Crawford was key just yesterday. At the same time he will miss rondo probably more than anybody on offense

[CelticsFan9]

He's already an impact player on defense.

[BballTim]

He's a Tony Allen with less defensive upside and better shooting motion. Quality rotation player at worst and at best, so, he's an impact player probably.

Less defensive upside?  I can't really agree with that.  Are you basing that just on the fact that he's an inch or two shorter than TA?  Bradley is a much smarter player, for starters.  I think it's fair to say his upside is better on both ends of the floor.

I think Bradley's ceiling is as the best guard defender in the game with an offensive game pretty similar to Courtney Lee -- 12-14 pts a night on 45 / 40 / 80 shooting.

  The advantage Allen has over Bradley is versatility. Avery's a very good defender but Tony's bigger and stronger and can cover more players effectively.

[PhoSita]

He's a Tony Allen with less defensive upside and better shooting motion. Quality rotation player at worst and at best, so, he's an impact player probably.

Less defensive upside?  I can't really agree with that.  Are you basing that just on the fact that he's an inch or two shorter than TA?  Bradley is a much smarter player, for starters.  I think it's fair to say his upside is better on both ends of the floor.

I think Bradley's ceiling is as the best guard defender in the game with an offensive game pretty similar to Courtney Lee -- 12-14 pts a night on 45 / 40 / 80 shooting.

  The advantage Allen has over Bradley is versatility. Avery's a very good defender but Tony's bigger and stronger and can cover more players effectively.

Yeah, I get that.  TA can perhaps cover 3 positions (both guard spots and SF) while Avery can really only cover guards. 

But I don't think that's the same as saying that Bradley doesn't have more "upside" than TA, even defensively.  TA is a very good defender, but he doesn't change the game the way that Bradley does.  Bradley seems to have an almost KG-like effect on team defense.  I don't remember TA ever doing that.

Also you can't underestimate the importance of the fact that Bradley is a smart basketball player; nobody has ever accused TA of being particularly smart (on the court).

[BballTim]

He's a Tony Allen with less defensive upside and better shooting motion. Quality rotation player at worst and at best, so, he's an impact player probably.

Less defensive upside?  I can't really agree with that.  Are you basing that just on the fact that he's an inch or two shorter than TA?  Bradley is a much smarter player, for starters.  I think it's fair to say his upside is better on both ends of the floor.

I think Bradley's ceiling is as the best guard defender in the game with an offensive game pretty similar to Courtney Lee -- 12-14 pts a night on 45 / 40 / 80 shooting.

  The advantage Allen has over Bradley is versatility. Avery's a very good defender but Tony's bigger and stronger and can cover more players effectively.

Yeah, I get that.  TA can perhaps cover 3 positions (both guard spots and SF) while Avery can really only cover guards. 

But I don't think that's the same as saying that Bradley doesn't have more "upside" than TA, even defensively.  TA is a very good defender, but he doesn't change the game the way that Bradley does.  Bradley seems to have an almost KG-like effect on team defense.  I don't remember TA ever doing that.

Also you can't underestimate the importance of the fact that Bradley is a smart basketball player; nobody has ever accused TA of being particularly smart (on the court).

  I remember the 2010 playoffs where TA made a big defensive impact against the Heat by guarding Wade, the Cavs by guarding James and the Lakers by guarding Kobe. Bradley generally doesn't guard whoever the best scorer is on the other team, he guards the pg.