Avery Bradley Is Evolving As An All Around Player

Here's a very good article on Avery Bradley's development as an all around player by Chris Mannix of SI.com. Please take the time to read the whole thing. Some great quotes in there, including this one from Bradley himself.

Celtics' Avery Bradley evolving into much more than defense-first guard - Chris Mannix - SI.com

"If you had a tape of me from the first grade, you would see a kid playing defense," Bradley said. "It's just a gift. A lot of coaches tell you that you're not going to get on the floor if you can't play defense. I just smile and say, 'Well, I guess I'm going to play then.'"

And some great background on his development this summer.

During the lockout, Bradley trained in Las Vegas, Seattle and Austin, where he drilled with, among others, reigning scoring champion Kevin Durant. In October, Bradley signed a deal with Hapoel Migdal in Israel. As a rookie with the Celtics last season, Bradley was often anxious about being exposed offensively in practices and games, so he stuck to his strengths. In Israel, Bradley worked exclusively on his weaknesses. He went left again and again. He pulled up for mid-range shots. Anything Bradley thought he struggled with, he did. "It did a lot for my confidence," Bradley said. "Last year, when I shot I didn't even think it was going in. I knew it was off. Now, I really believe that everything is going in."

Love what this kid has done with his career in just one short year. Hopefully the Pur-duo is taking notes.