Bradley should now be especially available (Overreaction...or not?)

[Dino Pitino]

How can the Celtics possibly trust him in a big moment like that, ever again? The stupidest foul that most here have probably ever seen. Unforgettably, unforgivably stupid. A revelation re: his basketball IQ and instincts. Can't be coached out of him. So, so disappointing. Cannot risk that happening in a Game 6 or 7 of an ECF or Finals. Let him commit a postseason-ending "Bradley's Boner" for another team.

Anyone like me who has insisted on withholding him from trade ideas should give that up and start thinking of him as a very tradeable asset. Luckily we'll still have a very good backcourt without him. He's a very valuable asset, probably the equivalent of a mid-lotto pick. Some other team will love acquiring him. "We're getting an All-Defensive specialist who can shoot, yay!" They'll only regret it much later, when he loses them a series with one extremely dumb mistake.

/overreaction (Or is it a justifiable reaction?)

[Ilikesports17]

How can the Celtics possibly trust him in a big moment like that, ever again? The stupidest foul that most here have probably ever seen. Unforgettably, unforgivably stupid. A revelation re: his basketball IQ and instincts. Can't be coached out of him. So, so disappointing. Cannot risk that happening in a Game 6 or 7 of an ECF or Finals. Let him commit a postseason-ending "Bradley's Boner" for another team.

Anyone like me who has insisted on withholding him from trade ideas should give that up and start thinking of him as a very tradeable asset. Luckily we'll still have a very good backcourt without him. He's a very valuable asset, probably the equivalent of a mid-lotto pick. Some other team will love acquiring him. "We're getting an All-Defensive specialist who can shoot, yay!" They'll only regret it much later, when he loses them a series with one extremely dumb mistake.

/overreaction (Or is it a justifiable reaction?)

I think this is an overreaction. He obviously has a low bbiq, but if we trade him (and im not against the idea depending on the return) it should be more for the boneheaded passes he makes, then one bad foul.

Smart had a comparable mental blunder earlier in the year.

would you do an AB for Parker based deal?

[86MaxwellSmart]

Super overreaction.

[Dino Pitino]

How can the Celtics possibly trust him in a big moment like that, ever again? The stupidest foul that most here have probably ever seen. Unforgettably, unforgivably stupid. A revelation re: his basketball IQ and instincts. Can't be coached out of him. So, so disappointing. Cannot risk that happening in a Game 6 or 7 of an ECF or Finals. Let him commit a postseason-ending "Bradley's Boner" for another team.

Anyone like me who has insisted on withholding him from trade ideas should give that up and start thinking of him as a very tradeable asset. Luckily we'll still have a very good backcourt without him. He's a very valuable asset, probably the equivalent of a mid-lotto pick. Some other team will love acquiring him. "We're getting an All-Defensive specialist who can shoot, yay!" They'll only regret it much later, when he loses them a series with one extremely dumb mistake.

/overreaction (Or is it a justifiable reaction?)

I think this is an overreaction. He obviously has a low bbiq, but if we trade him (and im not against the idea depending on the return) it should be more for the boneheaded passes he makes, then one bad foul.

Smart had a comparable mental blunder earlier in the year.

would you do an AB for Parker based deal?

Nothing compares to that foul tonight. Nothing, as in, nothing I have ever witnessed in 30+ years of watching basketball. Shaqtin-a-Fool worst-of-the-year material, except a game was on the line. Also, Smart is a sophomore. Bradley is a veteran in his prime. No excuse.

Yes, I would now trade Bradley for Parker and cross my fingers that Parker's knee holds up, that his three point range exists free of Kidd's restrictions, and that the non-scoring aspects of his game rise to the level of Average. Bradley's superior defense ultimately means nothing if he's capable of blowing a game in such an incredibly stupid fashion. Great defense means never doing something like that.

(My brain tells me I'm way overreacting...but it doesn't feel like I am, not yet. It might take me a week or two, or a month or two, in order to forget Bradley making that blunder.)

[tarheelsxxiii]

I'm guessing you felt much differently about him on Friday night.

[Dino Pitino]

I'm guessing you felt much differently about him on Friday night.

Absolutely. Friday night he proved he can drain a high-stakes buzzer beater. But there's a huge difference between his demonstrating the ability to hit a high-pressure shot, which a clutch player should be able to do about 4 times out of 10, an ability shared by dozens of other NBA players...versus revealing that he's capable of a mental error that no veteran who'll be counted on to close out big games in the future should ever commit.

[Rondo9]

I wonder if there will be "trade this player!" After they make mistakes in the clutch.

[slightly biased bias fan]

How can the Celtics possibly trust him in a big moment like that, ever again? The stupidest foul that most here have probably ever seen. Unforgettably, unforgivably stupid. A revelation re: his basketball IQ and instincts. Can't be coached out of him. So, so disappointing. Cannot risk that happening in a Game 6 or 7 of an ECF or Finals. Let him commit a postseason-ending "Bradley's Boner" for another team.

Anyone like me who has insisted on withholding him from trade ideas should give that up and start thinking of him as a very tradeable asset. Luckily we'll still have a very good backcourt without him. He's a very valuable asset, probably the equivalent of a mid-lotto pick. Some other team will love acquiring him. "We're getting an All-Defensive specialist who can shoot, yay!" They'll only regret it much later, when he loses them a series with one extremely dumb mistake.

/overreaction (Or is it a justifiable reaction?)

According to this logic Chris Webber should have gone undrafted after his timeout play lol

[Dino Pitino]

I wonder if there will be "trade this player!" After they make mistakes in the clutch.

There are all kinds of mistakes. Some are worse than others. Some are a completely different species of worse. If Bradley had double-clutched Friday night and not got a shot off in time, or dribbled the ball off Shumpert's foot, or hit the side of the backboard with a miss, that's a type of mistake a lot of players make in the heat of the moment. Totally forgettable, forgivable. Tonight's foul was the kind of mistake that requires an almost premeditated kind of idiocy. A veteran should never, ever, ever make that kind of mistake if he's had the slightest amount of time to dwell on the situation in advance. The answers to questions like "What's the worst thing I can possibly do in this situation?" (A: Reach in) and "What would be the benefit of reaching in with one second left in a tie game?" (A: Less than zero benefit) should already be internalized as reflexes, but hey, if not, then he still had a few moments to gather his thoughts and prepare himself, and yet he STILL did the stupidest possible thing.

[MJohnnyboy]

I'm guessing you felt much differently about him on Friday night.

Absolutely. Friday night he proved he can drain a high-stakes buzzer beater. But there's a huge difference between his demonstrating the ability to hit a high-pressure shot, which a clutch player should be able to do about 4 times out of 10, an ability shared by dozens of other NBA players...versus revealing that he's capable of a mental error that no veteran who'll be counted on to close out big games in the future should ever commit.

It happens. Paul Pierce made an even more boneheaded move back in 2005 against the Pacers. In the playoffs. In an elimination game. Remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbwm2tolAHo

The Celtics, although they tried to get rid of Pierce that summer, still ended up trusting him after that and the rest is history. Bradley and Pierce are not the same player, but the point is still the same: Stuff like this happens.

This is one game and all it does is help this team grow. Celtics did not lose ground in the east tonight and they even showed their resilience when they could have rolled over and died. I'm just as angry about what happened tonight as everyone else is, but I'm not blaming Avery entirely. He actually was one of the best players on the floor tonight leading up to that play. He made a gamble and it didn't work out. If you ask me, this team dug its own grave in the 3rd quarter when they let Milwaukee walk all over them to the point where they were down 20. The fact that they came back to tie the game to me is pretty impressive.

I'm not even trying to tell you you're right or wrong to feel the way you feel. What Bradley did was pretty inexcusable, but those inexcusable plays happen and there's nothing we can do about it. Just ask Bill Buckner.

[Dino Pitino]

How can the Celtics possibly trust him in a big moment like that, ever again? The stupidest foul that most here have probably ever seen. Unforgettably, unforgivably stupid. A revelation re: his basketball IQ and instincts. Can't be coached out of him. So, so disappointing. Cannot risk that happening in a Game 6 or 7 of an ECF or Finals. Let him commit a postseason-ending "Bradley's Boner" for another team.

Anyone like me who has insisted on withholding him from trade ideas should give that up and start thinking of him as a very tradeable asset. Luckily we'll still have a very good backcourt without him. He's a very valuable asset, probably the equivalent of a mid-lotto pick. Some other team will love acquiring him. "We're getting an All-Defensive specialist who can shoot, yay!" They'll only regret it much later, when he loses them a series with one extremely dumb mistake.

/overreaction (Or is it a justifiable reaction?)

According to this logic Chris Webber should have gone undrafted after his timeout play lol

Webber didn't have the same window to gather his thoughts. He was rushing across halfcourt. He was mentally tripped up by having gotten away with an obvious travel. The number of timeouts a team has left is also way more in the domain of what a coach is responsible for thoroughly reminding his players of. Most importantly, Webber was a college sophomore who had just turned 20.

[LGC88]

I can't believe such a topic was created.
How about play DEFENSE as a team for the whole game for a change?
Celtics got a warning vs the kings, now here is the punishment.

[Dino Pitino]

I'm guessing you felt much differently about him on Friday night.

Absolutely. Friday night he proved he can drain a high-stakes buzzer beater. But there's a huge difference between his demonstrating the ability to hit a high-pressure shot, which a clutch player should be able to do about 4 times out of 10, an ability shared by dozens of other NBA players...versus revealing that he's capable of a mental error that no veteran who'll be counted on to close out big games in the future should ever commit.

It happens. Paul Pierce made an even more boneheaded move back in 2005 against the Pacers. In the playoffs. In an elimination game. Remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbwm2tolAHo

The Celtics, although they tried to get rid of Pierce that summer, still ended up trusting him after that and the rest is history. Bradley and Pierce are not the same player, but the point is still the same: Stuff like this happens.

I remember it well. Not even close to being as stupid. Pierce was actually kind of screwed over there by a flop and a cowardly ref crew appeasing the crowd. He was struck in the face, should've been a flagrant the other way. The bandage later was silly, but his gripe wasn't.

This is one game and all it does is help this team grow. Celtics did not lose ground in the east tonight and they even showed their resilience when they could have rolled over and died. I'm just as angry about what happened tonight as everyone else is, but I'm not blaming Avery entirely. He actually was one of the best players on the floor tonight leading up to that play. He made a gamble and it didn't work out. If you ask me, this team dug its own grave in the 3rd quarter when they let Milwaukee walk all over them to the point where they were down 20. The fact that they came back to tie the game to me is pretty impressive.

I'm not even trying to tell you you're right or wrong to feel the way you feel. What Bradley did was pretty inexcusable, but those inexcusable plays happen and there's nothing we can do about it. Just ask Bill Buckner.

I like your attitude. You're helping. TP.

[Dino Pitino]

I can't believe such a topic was created.

Eh, it was either start this thread or sleeplessly mutter obscenities about Avery. I feel less angst now and might be able to get to sleep soon. Thank you, Celtics Blog.

How about play DEFENSE as a team for the whole game for a change?
Celtics got a warning vs the kings, now here is the punishment.

Great point.

[LGC88]

First 10 minutes were standard celtics bball.
The rest is the inconsistency of this team we know too well by now.
Luckily for me, I turn it down in the 3rd quarter, I had enough of all those cuts and easy layups.
I didn't suffer from this tragic loss. And even if they had won, I would still be frustrated and disappointed by their last 2 performances.