Danny Ainge: Avery Bradley's defense is "KG-like"

For months I was beating the drum of "don't put too much pressure on the kid.." And "this team's problems are deeper than one man can fix.

Mea culpa. I was wrong. Turns out, he was up to the task all along and he's just as big of an impact as you can hope for. At least so far. Don't believe me (or your eyes)? Listen to Danny Ainge.

Ainge on Rondo, KG, Bradley's return - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN Boston

"You know, Avery's arrival was huge because our defense is now back to the defense that we were last year. And we were one of the top defensive teams in the league last year and this year we were 21st. And by putting Avery back in the starting lineup, all of a sudden our team is playing at the same level, if not better, than we did last year. So, I know it's only a four-game sample or a five-game sample, but it's pretty impressive with the defense that we've played against very good competition as well. So, I think that you would have to say that Avery's impact has been huge. And obviously it isn't just Avery. But because of Avery, every other person's defense has picked up. And that's sort of KG-like."

Our team defense craters when KG is off the court. He's the one man plus/minus (I'm not even sure what that means, but it sounds right). He's one of the greatest defensive players of the past few decades if not ever. So putting someone in that kind of class (even if camped with the "sort of" qualifier) is high, high praise indeed.

Great to have you back Avery.