The Importance of Avery Bradley’s Defense
Avery Bradley’s defense is changing this series for the Boston Celtics.
It would not be giving Jimmy Butler his proper due to say that Avery Bradley has completely shut him down in this series, but it is hard to imagine anyone doing a better job. The Celtics have successfully prevented Butler from taking over this series, and that would not have been possible without Bradley.
Butler’s scoring has been all over the place. He has two games above 30 points, but only one other that is also over 20 points. In the three victories for the Celtics however, Butler is averaging just over 20 points per game on well under 45 percent shooting. That lone 30 point performance was also less dominant than it may suggest considering 19 of those points where at the free throw line. Butler is having a hard time shooting in this series, and that is because Bradley gives him no opportunities at space for an easy shot.
Other than foul trouble at times, Butler has been slowed down in a way that very few thought possible, and Bradley had furthered his reputation as the best defensive guard in the league. Butler has zero games shooting above 50 percent shooting from the field, and in two of the last three games he has not hit a single three pointer.
Since Rajon Rondo went down with an injury, the Celtics have been able to focus a lot more on Butler, and things have been far too difficult on him to take over the series. It is impossible to ask more from Bradley, who has been the favored matchup for the Celtics. Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder have their turn every once in a while, but Bradley is who Stevens wants on him, and there is good reason for that.
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Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this matchup is the size difference Bradley is making up for. Butler has five inches on Bradley, but you would not know that by looking at the way he has attacked. Butler has not been able to exploit the size advantage at all, and Bradley has been glued to him on the outside, preventing him from getting comfortable in any way. Bradley’s athleticism and quickness gives him the ability to disrupt anything Butler wants to do, and it feels as though he has figured out every way Butler wants to attack.
The biggest benefit is preventing Butler from being the best player on the court at all times, something that is essential to success for the Bulls, but that is not the only benefit. The Celtics decided to embrace small ball by inserting Gerald Green into the starting lineup, and Bradley’s ability to make up that size is a big difference maker.
The Celtics have a lot more defensive freedom when Crowder or Smart do not have to guard Butler. The Celtics know they will have undersized matchups, but both Crowder and Smart have proven they can handle bigs. If the Celtics needed that extra size on Butler, it would make it more difficult to optimize their versatility, which is a huge part of maintaining their small ball.
Bradley has not done it by himself. The Celtics have been phenomenal at helping him at the rim, which has been invaluable to making up for that size. Al Horford does not have to worry about defending Nikola Mirotic on the outside now, so he is spending more time closer to the rim, causing a lot of problems for Butler when he breaks from from Bradley.
Bradley is making things as difficult as possible on Butler by suffocating him with vicious defense on both ends, and it is further amplified by the fact that even when Butler beats Bradley, that is not going to be enough.
If Bradley’s size prevented him from properly matching up on Butler, they would still have those other defenders. What is most important for this team is to play as a unit, and things would be a lot easier for everyone else if Bradley was not trusted on Butler. The Celtics knew they needed to slow down Butler in this series, and Bradley has allowed them to do that without threatening everything else they need to do on the defensive end.
There is a good chance that Butler will be the most physically demanding potential playoff matchup for Bradley. Thing kind of defense like this is a deadly weapon for this Celtics team, who would likely have John Wall and Kyrie Irving waiting if they get that far in the playoffs. Defense has always been a weapon for them, and it is not hard to tell that Butler is the most important assignment in this game.
Butler certainly has the talent to break through this defense, and finally have a complete game where he shoots the ball well. That being said, Bradley has shown the Celtics what they need to do to make him as uncomfortable as possible, while maintaining the matchups they need everywhere else.
The Bulls need Butler to have an advantage more than most individual players for a single team. The Celtics has defensive matchups that they do not have to worry about across the rest of the lineup, and if Butler does not find a way to destroy a game, the Bulls’ only hope will be a meltdown by the rest of the roster.
Next: Celtics Fourth Quarter Dominance Returning
The Celtics know the Bulls do not have the shooting to blow this series up, and they now know they do not have a point guard that can control an offense and get the easy buckets that a team like this needs. What the Bulls are supposed to have is the best player on the court in Butler, and the most important part of this series has been Bradley denying Butler that title, at least for now.