Is Avery Bradley clutch?

Since the departure of Paul Pierce, the Celtics have been searching for a guy who can knock down the important shot in crunch time.

On Friday night in Denver, Avery Bradley's name was called in the closing minutes, and the C's guard delivered like UPS. With 3:30 left in the game, AB hit a corner three to put the team up 93-91.

When the green needed another big make, down 96-95, Bradley again came through:



With 26 seconds left, the five-year veteran nailed a foul line extended jumper to put the visitors up 100-97:



When asked about the biggest shot of the game, Bradley had this to say to Mass Live's Jay King:

I knew the shot was going to go in before I even shot it. I was that confident. I even slipped and I still was able to make it. I knew it was going to go in.

So this begs the question, is Bradley clutch?

Avery in fourth quarters, is making 50% of his attempts from the floor, 5% higher than the teams' average. It may be a small sample size, but in the last two games, both Boston victories, he is averaging 13.5 points per game in the second half.

ESPN's Chris Forsberg had an excellent piece regarding how clutch Bradley has been.

Forsberg points out that the Celts guard is shooting 57.1% from the field including 60% from beyond the arc in the last five minutes of the game, when the score is within five points.

Jeff Green's 30% and Rajon Rondo's 9% shooting in that same time span is proof that they weren't up for the challenge of being the "closer". With Bradley's recent play in tight games, the C's have a potential clutch scorer in the making.

Going forward with no superstar, the green will need a whole team effort executing down the stretch. Having one player to count on as the seconds tick down is an added luxury the squad desperately could use as they creep back into the playoff picture. As Bradley's confident soars, and his opportunities increase, it be intriguing to see how often Brad Stevens calls on the longest tenured Celtic.

For the time being, after knocking down  key shot after key shot in the victory over the Nuggets, Bradley is willing to answer that call.


Photo credit: AP/David Zalubowski

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