Avery Bradley elected to 2nd All-Defensive Team

From Marc D'Amico of Celtics.com:

Bradley received 25 total points and 10 First-Team votes during the voting process, which consists of a ballot cast by each of the league's 30 head coaches. A quick look at the balloting results shows how close Bradley was to making the First Team.

Only five players in the league received more total points than Bradley's 25. Four of those players, Tony Allen (53), LeBron James (52), Serge Ibaka (46) and Chris Paul (37), were First-Team selections. The other player, Paul George (27), joined Bradley on the Second Team.

Congrats, Avery.

The Celtics fell to 12th in OPG and and 7th in OFG%, but their drop in defense this season can not be blamed on Bradley who returned from double shoulder surgery last summer. As Chris Forsberg on ESPN Boston points out:

According to individual defensive statistics logged by Synergy Sports, Bradley limited opponents to 0.697 points per play, the lowest in the league among those with at least 475 total defensive possessions. Opponents shot just 30.8 percent against Bradley and scored just 31.8 percent of the time (also a league low using that 475 possession total).

Last year, Avery received only one First Team vote and one Second Team vote with Garnett (26 points) and Rondo (29 points) landing on the 2nd All-Defensive Team. This season, no other Celtic received a vote besides Bradley. Finally, AB is getting recognition around the league for his on-ball defense but for what it's worth, Garnett (and even Jeff Green) should have earned some love from the coaches. These ballots can get a little screwy; Marc Gasol, the Defensive Player of the Year, finished last in votes among players voted on the first or second team.