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Is Avery Bradley the Celtics’ Two Guard of the Future

By Michael Hilperts

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Apr 23, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) and guard Evan Turner (11) return to the bench during a break in the action against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 103-95. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Is Avery Bradley a part of Danny Ainge’s master plan or could his presence prove detrimental to the development of the Celtics’ overloaded back court?

Back in 2012, an ankle injury to Ray Allen prompted Doc Rivers to deploy sophomore guard, Avery Bradley into the Celtics’ start lineup. Since then, Bradley’s consistently started with the Celtics as the team’s off guard. Between his elite perimeter defense and three-point shot, Bradley’s been effective in Boston. He’s also been the C’s one steady presence on a roster, which has otherwise been, extremely unstable.

Is he Boston’s shooting guard of the future, though?

The mere fact that Bradley’s made an All-NBA Second Team Defense, suggests he’s a capable starter in the NBA. Perhaps even on a contender, depending on how it’s built. But could Boston’s arrangement of guards work without him?

With a back court comprised of Bradley, Isaiah Thomas, R.J. Hunter, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner (can play SF too), and Terry Rozier, the Celtics need to make some transactions before their roster’s sustainable. With that number of promising players, there’s no way to appease every one of them while trying to develop the young players.

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Considering Bradley’s reputation around the league as an elite defender, he’d be one of the easier players for Ainge to move. In fact, there were reports last trade-deadline suggesting the Celtics were offered a first-round pick for Bradley. However, Ainge refused, likely because he – at least at the time – saw Bradley as a part of his rebuilding plans. Does he still, though?

Bradley’s impact on the defensive end cannot be overstated. He gives opposing team’s guards fits on the perimeter while forcing them to turn over the ball. While he’s played the off guard position throughout most of his tenure with the Celtics, he’s actually a natural point guard – at least on the defensive end. At 6’2″, Bradley’s at his best defending the opposing team’s point guard.

Being undersized in the NBA is generally a death sentence. Bradley’s agility on the perimeter largely compensates for his size though. But if he somehow ends up guarding a SF on a switch on a p&r, such as LeBron James, Bradley’s toast. There’s simply no way he can contend with threes and stretch-fours in these situations, considering he’ll be at least half a foot smaller than his opponent. Most elite defensive guards, like Dwyane Wade or Paul George, can defend at least three positions, Bradley – on the other hand – can guard only two.

Marcus Smart, who’s also a natural point guard, has the ability to defend three positions. In the occasional super small-ball lineup, Brad Stevens would deploy Smart at small forward. This was extremely effective, seeing as it allowed Isaiah Thomas to play, and thus defend, at the point guard position. But Smart’s ability to defend three positions helps when he’s paying the one or two as well. His defensive versatility allows the C’s to switch more on pick n’ rolls, which can be extremely beneficial, considering the grind of a 48 minute game.

The Milwaukee Bucks are known for their starting lineups’ length and agility, which makes them elite defensively due to this ability to switch on pick n’ rolls. Michael Carter-Williams at 6’6″ can just as easily defend smaller forwards as he can guards, due to this length. Same can just as easily be said about the 6’11” Giannis Antetokounmpo, who can defend anyone from the one to four.

The Celtics don’t have this luxury with their back court, however. It’s important for the Celtics to play the 5’9″ Isaiah Thomas, as he’s the most important part of their offense. This creates serious size issues with both him and Bradley on the court. What’s more sustainable, is to have Thomas paired alongside Marcus Smart.

If Smart can prove just as effective at two guard than he is at the point, then Danny Ainge should begin shopping Avery Bradley. While an initial concern was spacing with Marcus Smart, he ended up making the most three-pointers out of any rookie last season. While Bradley’s 35% from behind the arc is superior to Smart’s 33.5%, there may be little incentive to keep Bradley, if Smart can improve his percentages.

Moving Bradley (whether it be for another pick or a big man) will also open up valuable playing time for recent Celtics draft picks. If Stevens can turn Smart into a shooting guard, and opts to continue using Thomas as a sixth man, then we could begin seeing Rozier start at point. While I may be getting ahead of myself right now, I think we can begin to rule out the possibility of Bradley taking an All-Star jump. There’s still time for the Celtics rookies to develop to that level though. The problem is, Bradley just doesn’t have the offensive game to create high-percentage shots off-the-dribble. While he’ll always be an effective shooter from the corner, he’s inefficient from the wings (28.5% off a top of attempts).

An ideal landing spot for Bradley would be a team that’d deploy him at point guard, without having to perform the point guard’s offensive duties. An example of such a team would be the Houston Rockets, who have James Harden as the key play caller.

Regardless, teams are enticed by Bradley’s three-and-D abilities, as it’s a very “in” prototype in the new age NBA. If Bradley’s presence proves to inhibit the C’s young players’ potential, then expect Ainge to look for trades involving Bradley. If he moves Bradley, Ainge will likely do so in a larger deal proposed to address the C’s lack of a big man.

In the meantime, Bradley’s a great player set to make only $7.7 million next season. So Ainge is probably in no hurry to trade Avery Bradley.

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