The Starter
Last January, The Clippers acquired guard Avery Bradley from the Detroit Pistons as part of the Blake Griffin trade. Bradley is one of the premier perimeter defenders in the NBA.
He was selected to the All-Defensive First Team after his 2015-16 season with the Boston Celtics. He is so well respected by his fellow players that there was outrage when he was not selected to the All-Defensive team for the 2016-17 season.
No Avery Bradley all-defense?! On the behalf of the players... he deserves it!
— Book (@DevinBook) June 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/BeMore27/status/879443707807776768
Bradley is known for his defensive ability, but he has proven to be a capable scorer, as well. He averaged 15 points per game and shot 38.1% from three-point range in 40 games with the Detroit Pistons last season.
Bradley stepped in as the starter immediately for the Clippers. However, he struggled shooting the ball as he shot only 11.1% from deep with his new team. Oddly, Bradley also appeared to be hesitant to shoot threes and his stats reflected that. He attempted only 1.5 threes per game, which was much lower than his previous average of 4.9 attempts with Detroit.
Sadly, Bradley’s season was cut short after only six games due to a hernia. He underwent season-ending surgery, and the Clippers re-signed him in the offseason to a team friendly deal.
I suspect that Bradley’s hesitation to shoot and low three-point percentage, where simply a product of him playing through an injury. He already looked more comfortable during his first preseason game and attempted seven threes in that game.
Bradley seems to have a firm grasp on the starting job for now. He and Beverley should combine to make up the best defensive backcourt in the league.
However, through two preseason games, rookie point guard Gilgeous-Alexander has proven to play well alongside Beverley. If Gilgeous-Alexander continues to play well as the season moves along, he could replace Bradley in the starting lineup.