What Can Avery Bradley the Play-Maker Look Like?

Looking into how Avery Bradley can have an impact as a play-maker

One of the many things that the Boston Celtics have revealed so far this preseason is that shooting guard Avery Bradley is looking to expand his offensive game. Already one of the only trusted shooters on the team, Bradley realizes that as valuable as shooting can be to them, his impact will always be limited without playmaking.

Isaiah Thomas went through a similar transition. In his first half season with the team, he was clearly the go to scorer and had an offensive arsenal that had no comparison on the rest of the team. Thomas, as the primary ball hanlder, realized that he needed to do more in order to reach the team’s potential, and responded by becoming the teams leader in assists.

Bradley will never get the offensive responsibility that Thomas has, but he also realizes how one-dimensional he has been, and how much room he has to improve as a play maker. Whether or not the assists will start to rise dramatically is less of an issue. There is a great chance that Bradley will see his career high of 2.1 assists per game rise from a season ago, but actual assists is not the only place where that added impact can be felt.

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The key for the Celtics has never been one player flying around, dishing out all the assists. Their ball movement needs to be as a unit. They do not have success because of individual particular passes (although Thomas has given the fans plenty of those), they have success because the entire lineup moves the ball as a whole, looking to get the best possible shooting opportunity.

At this point in his career, Bradley has done very little to advance that ball movement. He has not been a liability that turns the ball over, but his main priority has always been shoot first. When the ball has been sent to Bradley, most of the time it is with the intention of him shooting an open shot.

Bradley has firmly cemented himself as a premier defensive guard in the NBA, and looking to improve his game will always bring him to the offensive end. 36.1 percent from three and just under 45 percent overall is certainly acceptable, but he is rarely an instigator on the offensive end. Bradley is looking to have a bigger impact on the ball movement, and he is also looking to do a bette job of generating his own offense.

Apr 9, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) pushes the ball up the court in the fourth quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 118-107. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Since joining the team, Thomas has been the only player really trusted to create shots for himself. The Celtics have not had options when they are out of rhythm and their ball movement is not yielding results. Bradley is looking to give Thomas as much help as possible in that area, and give the Celtics more offensive options when they go with an all defense lineup.

Depending on what kind of back courts they will be playing, Stevens will certainly give Smart and Braldey minutes together, but that creates a lot of risk on the offensive end. Smart is also looking to expand his offensive role with added responsibility on the second unit, but they will both need to contribute if they want to have a positive offensive back court with Thomas off the floor.

All of this is with the goal of creating a more versatile Bradley. The Celtics know they have a strong two way player in him. Trusted on the offensive end and All-NBA on the defensive end, Bradley has proven that he will have a positive impact on both ends. That being said, his offensive game has been far too one dimensional. The Celtics have a lot of willing passers on their team, but they need more players that can create and instigate with their passing.

This is unchartered territory for Bradley, who has averaged over two assists per game once in his career. That being said, this is not about assist totals for Braldey, it is about establishing more consistency on the Celtics offense. When so much of their production and offensive flow is hinging on one player in Thomas, it is no surprise that they had consistency issues. Thomas did a masterful job in that role last year, but they need more options around him in order to maintain their high level of offensive play throughout the season.

Bradley’s new mentality is also about improving the quality of the shots. The Celtics loved Bradley’s aggressiveness with the ball in his hands and that should not change this season. Any time Bradley gets the space he believes he needs, he needs to capitalize on that opportunity. That being said, Bradley is looking to expand what he can do when the quality of his shot is not worth taking.

The Celtics desperately need to improve their shooting percentage, and Bradley will not have that big of an impact simply with his shooting. Even if Bradley improved his percentages, that does not do enough for the team as a whole. Generating ball movement and becoming more of a passer is how Bradley can impact their shooting as a unit, and that is something he has not done throughout his career.

Bradley becoming more of a play maker will not drastically change his role on the team. There is no confusion on the starting unit, Thomas is the primary ball handler and there is no reason to reduce his role in any way. Bradley, however, is looking to expand what the others do when they have the ball in their hands. Thomas is a ball dominant guard, but the Celtics are at their best when everyone is moving the ball well.

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Bradley wants to become more of a part of that ball movement and if he is impacting the team the way he wants to, the results will not be seen when he has the ball in his hands. The results need to be felt when the whole unit is passing the ball though everyone on the court. So far, Thomas has been the only player to consistently instigate that kind of ball movement, but Bradley is looking to change that this season.