Avery Bradley discusses the new additions to the Celtics roster and expectations for the coming year
It's hard to imagine that the longest-tenured Boston Celtic is Avery Bradley. The five-year-veteran is the last link to the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce era, and it's apparent that confidence is one major trait the 24-year-old took away from the two future Hall of Famers. The guard discussed his aspirations for the Celts at Friday's media day:
Avery Bradley thinks the C's can get to the finals. "A lot of people laugh at me when I said we were going to make the playoffs last year."— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) September 25, 2015
Now Bradley may have to pump the brakes on the Finals talk, but it's good to hear that the he has high expectations for this coming season.
Helping those hopes are the additions of veterans David Lee and Amir Johnson. The two big bodies bring depth to a Celtics' frontcourt that was thin at times during last years' 40-win campaign. Bradley expressed his pleasure with his two newest teammates:
Avery Bradley on additions of Lee/Amir: "I think it makes us tougher...I'm excited I have a chance to play with both of these guys."— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) September 25, 2015
Avery Bradley said Amir Johnson and David Lee make the Celtics tougher. "Amir plays SO hard."— Jay King (@ByJayKing) September 25, 2015
Much has been made of Bradley's declining defense in the last past couple seasons. Gone was KG, the crutch in the paint that had Bradley's back his first few years in the league.
This season Bradley will have the former Toronto Raptor Johnson, an above average defender, manning the rim to offer a second line of defense which will help AB regain some of the swagger that made him an All-NBA Defensive Second Team selection in 2013. A unit of Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Johnson could make the Celts very tough to score on.
As far as the offensive side of Bradley's game, the Tacoma, Washington native touched on a number of topics including getting to the line and three-point shooting:
Avery Bradley is learning: "Long twos don't make as much sense as a 3-pointer."— Jay King (@ByJayKing) September 25, 2015
Avery Bradley is focusing on getting to the basket, free throw line this season. #Celtics #CelticsMediaDay
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBA) September 25, 2015
If Bradley decides to chuck up more shots from deep, he will want to improve the 35 percent mark he posted last year from beyond the arc.
One thing is for sure Bradley will be a big factor in the Celtics success this season. Him and his teammates will get to work tomorrow after Friday's media day in Waltham.
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Photo credit: Matt Stone/ Boston Herald