Avery Bradley, A Long Wait For A Future Star

When John Wall and Avery Bradley were seniors in High School they were neck in neck for the #1 player ranking.  Of course Wall went on to blossom at Kentucky, become the #1 overall pick by the Wizards and has already had a 28 point, 9 assist game in just his second NBA game.  He will star in commercials, likely be the rookie of the year and perhaps an All Star.

Meanwhile Avery Bradley, the 6,3 guard who played one season at Texas remains deep on the bench for the Boston Celtics.  Starting point guard Rajon Rondo is one of the top point guards in the league and the rest of the team is made up of veteran performers who are pushing for one more shot at a championship.  All this leaves Avery Bradley with little shot at playing time and through three games he has seen a grand total of zero minutes on the court.

Bradley may provide value off the Celtics bench as a late game energy player and defensive stopper but he will spend a lot of long nights watching from the sidelines.  He has the future, in my opinion, a potential lockdown defender on the perimeter and along with Rondo could be a defensive nightmare for slower backcourts to deal with.  But it might be just as likely that Bradley remains on the bench for most of his rookie year, seeing only garbage minutes in blowout wins and loses.

All this raises the question of whether Bradley should have stayed at Texas, not just to improve his draft position but to get the playing time needed to hone his point guard skills.  Of course playing against the like of Rondo in practice every day is an education in and of itself but it leaves me to wonder:  If Bradley had known that he would not be getting minutes as a rookie would he still have chosen to enter the 2010 draft?

For now, he sits and waits.  A star in the waiting.....

Thoughts On The Rookies

With the NBA's regular season approaching we are starting to get a feel for which recent draft picks will be making a big splash in their rookie seasons.  The preseason only tells us so much, especially as it concerns teams win/loss records but it is a good chance to gauge and get a feel for how the youngsters will handle the NBA game.

Number one pick John Wall has been his usual self, a blur on the court, outpacing opponents and teammates alike.  His explosiveness is unparalleled and will lead to many easy baskets, both for himself and teammates but will also lead to many TO's and lost opportunities.

Evan Turner has been nothing short of a disappointment so far and fans in Philly are starting to wonder if he was the right pick.  Can he play alongside Jrue Holiday?  Should the 76ers have drafted Demarcus Cousins?  Those questions remain to be answered but I think it's too early to dispare.  Turner has a world of talent and I think he will eventually find his rythme and figure out how to fit his skills into the NBA game.  But it would be reassuring to see him find some success against the preseason back-ups he's been playing against.

Derrick Favors and Wesley Johnson have also been off to slow starts, which is not so unexpected for the young Favors but most people thought Johnson would find early success at this level.  Again, it's way to early to pass judgements are worry too much about the rookies, before they've even played a real NBA game.

One standout of the preseason is DeMarcus Cousins.  As he was in college, Cousins is too much for most opponents to handle down low and he is rebounding at an impressive clip.  The Kings are heading in the right direction and could be interesting to watch as their young players gel through the course of the season.

Although Blake Griffin wasn't drafted this year he is entering his first real NBA season.  So far he has been nothing short of spectacular for the Clippers, putting up huge numbers and highlight reel plays.

A surprise performer so far this preseason is Jordan Crawford of the Atlanta Hawks.  The 27th pick in the draft is playing more like a lottery selection and making the Hawks think along and hard about finding playing time for him (i.e. trading Jamal Crawford).

The preseason can be deceptive as many teams rest their star players and give the rookies an extended look but it gives us a first glimpse of how the rookies can handle the speed of the NBA game.