What if Bradley is better than Rondo
by businessbmw on Sep 7, 2010 2:29 PM EDT
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This is just a what if question, so don't freak out and put a hit out on me!
I was talking to a friend the other day, and we started talking basketball and he asked me if Bradley turns into a Westbrook type player who would we keep Rondo or Bradley? I told him It depends if we are a contender or if we are rebuilding. What would you do?
Im pulling for Rondo, I saw him rise into an All Star it's difficult to let the Kid go.
Now if a trade can net a Granger type player than yeah but anything short of that no.
Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.
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First off, the headline is a bit futuristic
Bradley might be better than Rondo one day if Rondo teaches him all his tricks (cuz only then you’ll be able to compare them) and if he plays better D than Rondo. Not gonna happen (either of those two).
However, I think they might complement each other perfectly – Rondo plays D, Bradley plays offense (if he grows into that type of player), good game, no remake.
Irresponsible I stand...
The question is not whether Bradley can be better than Rondo. The question is what happens if Bradley turns out to be better than Rondo, not when or if about it. You have to assume he is. Please read the question.
No, Rondo is unique.
You can’t want something better than you already have. For crying out loud, Rondo is awesome the way he is now.
Irresponsible I stand...
Except for ft shooting
Which is the only place that Westbrook is better – unless the 3-pt shooting % he showed vs the Lakers continues)…
by nba is the worst on Sep 9, 2010 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
I'd take LeBron's triple flyover in a single game over shooting...
You can master the free throws. You can’t master Rondo’s skill.
Irresponsible I stand...
i meant “maybe never in a celtics uniform.”
He’s buried in the bench for two years, probably will still be in his third year and then switch teams or be traded. With no disrespect on Bradley’s game, I still think there are better choices than him last draft can help the Celtics right away. They could’ve drafted Damion James or Quincy Poindexter. Both are, maybe not as “NBA ready” defensively but are good defenders none the less.
my opinion.
Not convinced any of those guys help the Celtics this year.
But you’re point is valid, they definitely would have fit the Celtics need a little better. Even if it’s a third guy behind Daniels, a solid rookie at the wing who can develop and maybe contribute at some point might not have been a terrible idea.
That being said, Bradley was absolutely the most talented player available at that spot, so I can’t argue with Danny’s philosophy. He’ll struggle to develop with all the depth at the guard positions this year, but ya never know how these things can shake out. If Doc really likes what he sees in practice, you might see him get some floor time, Doc loves guys who commit to defense.
i sure hope so. and hope he becomes patient and stays, or not get traded.
I saw him play defense in his lone year in Texas. Boy, he was relentless. He’s capable of scoring too.
Out of topic. not to bring it up again but.
i’m still a little disappointed at this pick. Especially now that I might never see Bradley in a decent playing time aside from garbage minutes in the next couple of years. Again, no disrespect to Avery’s game but I was really hoping they take James Anderson back then. 6’6’’ guy who can play SG/SF, can score (like seriously), puts effort on defense (though not really as good as Bradley does, which is why Danny picked him I guess). I’m still thinking, if we had Anderson we would never need Von and probably used that signing for someone else, someone that fits us more better.
Or we could have used him as a trade chip to get much better players that fit, we probably would’ve gotten Rudy or Battier or someone else better than what we have right now if we had him instead of Avery.
Anyway, here’s hoping that Avery pans out. Coz if I say James pan out in San Antonio, which I’m really think he will, I’d seriously lose some sleep on that. Avery, please don’t let me down man…
I highly doubt...
That James Anderson would have been a deal sweetener in any of those deals. Battier is a moot point, Houston was just flat out never going to trade him, as evidenced by the fact that they shipped Ariza out. You can’t say Anderson would have been enough to get Ariza either, the guy they brought in on that deal, Courtney Lee, is a far more complete, better player than Anderson.
Anderson is more NBA ready than Bradley, no question about it. But as far as potential goes, he doesn’t even come close. Bradley has all the tools to be a truly dynamic scoring combo guard in this league, ala Russel Westbrook. And his defense, he’d already be one of the best 1/2 guard defenders in the NBA. He needs to learn the team system to be a really elite defender, but 1v1 you wont find anyone better at staying in front of his man and making things difficult on an opponent.
Anderson, I can all but guarantee you will never be more than a very good 6-man. That’s still a great value at the 19 spot no doubt, but as far as potential, Bradley could have, and probably should have been a lottery pick, if it wasn’t for that stint at Texas (which I don’t blame him on, don’t forget, Rondo’s struggles at Kentucky was the reason he fell so low in the draft too… and you know how that one worked out.) So you can’t blame Danny for taking that risk, the potential reward is certainly worth it.
im not blaming danny.
i just thought he’s a better pick than Bradley. I will be very, very happy if I will be proven wrong (and hoping for it too).
Bradley won’t get the opportunity to show he’s better than Rondo, he won’t get a chance to play enough significant minutes. All closing minutes of the game will go to Rondo and now we have Delonte who can play point and then we have Nate.
So unless Avery shows some flashes of greatness and shows it often he will be sitting the bench through most scenario’s ! He may be a better shooter but he better be a great shooter, passer, defender, rebounder and creator, his task won’t be easy
yeah if he turns out better than rondo it;ll be in another uniform
rondo’s not going anywhere
Easy: Rondo will be traded
If Bradley turns out the better, which is hard to imagine, then Rondo will be traded. We don’t need 2 all-star PGs and we could get a very good player for Rondo.
Before somebody writes another “Rondo’s forever Celtic” type of message, this is business and Ainge is not the kind of men who’s afraid of hard decisions. He’s job is to make the team better and not to keep a group of old friends together. And he’s good at it.
Yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate..
… although it would depend upon whether Bradley could play SG. If so, I could see Ainge going with a two-PG lineup.
All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino
Possibly.
But Avery needs to add NBA 3-pt range, which the jury is still out on if he can do reliably. You can’t be a viable SG option in the NBA without a decent 3-pt shot, not in today’s game anyway.
But he’s got the length to play defense at the 2-guard, so it’s entirely possible that if Bradley really develops in the next couple years, you’ll see him play with Rondo in 2012, or possibly be the teams 6-man that year as a combo-guard scoring punch off the bench, kind of like what Crawford is to the hawks, but smaller.
I'm not too worried about Bradley's ability to develop a 3pt shot
Just in case anyone is wondering, I managed to dig up his 2008-2009 Findlay Prep numbers:
converted 54 percent of his field goal attempts (258-of-477), 76.1 percent from the free throw line (83-of-109) and 38.3 percent from the three-point line (31-of-81)
(Source)
Combined with his Texas 2009-2010 numbers where he shot 37.5% from 3PT land, he’ll probably be just fine. Obviously, he’s still very young and raw. He has unbelievable upside.
Note
Too funny!
“You can’t be a viable SG option in the NBA without a decent 3-pt shot, not in today’s game anyway.”
What’s Rondo’s 3-pt FG% again?
(vs LA, Rondo 33.3%, Westbrook 41.7%)
by nba is the worst on Sep 9, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Last I checked, Rondo was a PG, not an SG
Sizzlak’s comment was about SGs.
Though, for the record, while 33.3% for 3PT% isn’t great, it isn’t terrible. If Rondo could shoot at that rate consistently, that would be awesome.
Not a chance
So lets stop thinking over the very doubtful hypothetical
its not doubtful
bradley is a very capable defender, maybe even better than rondo and if he can develop a better jumper, rebounding and passing skills, he could very well be better than rondo. but it doesnt matter cuz rondo wouuld start at da 1 and bradley would start at da 2.
I think your last sentence is the most likely scenario
Bradley looks like he’ll be a better shooter and probably a better man defender (he has 6’7" wingspan!). He has the length and ability to cover 2s.
However, Rondo’s ball-handling and court-vision are unreal – and those are the characteristics that you really want in a PG. It would be asking a lot to expect Bradley to match Rondo in those things as well.
True...
And I do think he sees some time at SG in the future. But, although a 4 inch wingspan is pretty good, there are still a lot of shooting guards out there that are 6’5, 6’6, so if they have an average wing span of about 3 inches, they hit 6’9. So that means Bradley is still giving up 2 inches on that shot. He has to use his athleticism and jumping ability (which are very good) and great timing to be able to contest shots.
Although he has great length for a guy his size, he doesn’t have the length to contest most SGs without leaving his feet. so his timing has to be perfect, he has to guess right on the shots, since he can’t just go straight up and contest. If he guesses wrong on shot fakes, he’ll draw a lot of fouls.
but perimeter defense isn't really about height
Yes, height helps, but perimeter defense is really about keeping your man between your knees and forcing him to go to where you want him to go and to take the shot that you want him to take. Contesting the shot is only the very last part of the play.
By forcing your man to take a 3PT% shot, even uncontested, instead of allowing a slash or pass to the hoop, you’ve already reduced his shot percentage from a 60-75% chance down to 30-40%. You’ve already won that battle. If you contest it well, you can reduce the chances down to the 20% realm.
In other words, defense – especially celtic brand team defense – is all about forcing the opponent to take low percentage shots. I don’t care if a wing defender gives up 6 inches. If he can stay in front and keep the ball out of the paint, then he’s doing his job because shots in the paint are high percentage and shots from beyond the arc are low percentage.
Tony Allen is barely an inch and change taller than Bradley (Allen is listed generously at 6-4), yet we routinely expected him to defend much taller players – even some SFs – and he did.
Meh. I’ll take all this blatant homerism and great defender talk with a grain of salt until i see the kid actually play in an NBA game?
Rondo is coming off epic playoff games, and his first all star appearance
Bradley hasnt played in an NBA game is coming off surgery
i heard people say the same thing about Lester Hudson
whatever happened to Hudson anyways?
Different story! Bradley was the #1 prospect coming outta high school, and was projected as a lottery pick till draft day. Lester was a 58th pick in a bad school.
Lester is with the Wizards and could be the backup for John Wall, plus there are 4 other teams really trying to sign him, the kid really made a name for him self during summer league.
IF Bradley was better
Then would simply play him at the 2 spot that he has been playing at all his life. and if he WAS better than Rondo then that means he’s better than Ray Ray as well, which would push Ray to the bench that he often plays with anyways.
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