Avery Bradley Vs. Austin Rivers

if Rivers can play and it increases the talent level on the team, does it really matter? The Celtics lack back court depth once Ray Allen leaves, someone has to pick up those minutes. Every team has 96 minutes to allocate in their backcourt. If Rivers does land withthe Cs, that would mean everyone (Avery, Rondo and Rivers) would get 32 minutes per game. That sounds fine to me.

 I think Rivers might be best served as a 6th man scoring option off the bench a la James Harden/ Jason Terry/ Manu Ginobili etc… I certainly think they can both coexist, but you would be giving up size in your back court with those three

 Bradley to me is a backup guard, but one who has value defensively and with making spot-up jumpers, and the occasional athletic finish. Austin Rivers will need time to grow, but he definitely has more potential to be a truly good starter than Bradley, because he could be a really good scorer and Bradley doesnt score that well and Boston will need a shot creator in the near future. Bradley and Rivers’ games compliment well too.

A backcourt that has not 1 player taller than 6’3 would be pretty vulnerable due to their lack of size. I don’t like that backcourt becuase size and length regardless of position is quite an important aspect of the game. I would keep Bradley though, he looks like a future All NBA Defensive player in my opinion.

 I think there is no way he slips that far…I expect a team to take him way early.

With Bradleys perimeter defense and Rondos rebounding I don’t think size would be a factor with the backcourt of Boston. Size is much more important inside then it is outside. The real problem with drafting Austin would be dividing up the minutes and shots without playing favorites. You have to admit Doc would love to see his son have the ball at the end of the game for him but the other players might not feel the same way.

He can dominate the ball then. I am sure he would find plenty of open J’s with Rondo. There would be plenty of minutes for all three guys.

 Bradley is  better defender than Rivers is an offensive player and has more room for growth as an offensive player than Rivers has as defensive player.  I don’t think that Rivers necessarily has more potential than Bradley, as Bradley, despite being older, is far from a finished product, perhaps farther from his peak than Rivers.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I don’t think that Rivers would be a good fit for the Celtics and their style of play, while I think Bradley is a major part of the Celtics future.  

I would not be concerned about starter/backup designations, as their are plenty of minutes for 3 guards in the backcourt.  I don’t think they would draft Rivers and expect him to play 30 mpg right away or even necessarily at all.  We aren’t talking about a high lottery pick: any player taken after the lottery could be considered a good pick if they become a productive back-up.

I agree with Sewok: Bradley can defend the 2 just fine and Rondo can defend the one.  Bradley doesn’t play like a small guard at all.  With his length, he can give any two guard fits on offense, and both he and Rondo can rebound.  The Celtics don’t have any size issue in the backcourt to compensate for.

Going to keep getting better.21 and starting in the playoffs already.

 Rumor about Austin going to the Celtics. A reporter asked Doc the question of his son playing for them and fans ran wild with it(of course) to the point that now fans,bloggers think the Celtics are targeting Austin.  The Celtics want the best non PG player available when they pick, if that’s Austin then so be it

Ainge should trade to get him.

@b-ball fan

Exactly, if we put offense+defense together Bradley is the best player . Like you said Bradley offensive game is no where near its peak, he just sticks with his role (defend, make cuts and stay in the corner)  but whoever watched him playing without Rondo and without the Big 4 against the bobcats knows he can do other things.

However, about rivers, it’s much harder to get better at defense, either you have it or you don”t.

Anyway I still think Rivers will be the TOP scorer from this draft class , maybe not the 1st year, but he will.

I believe Bradly and Rivers are going to be similare level players in the NBA. Avery will be the better defender while Austin will be the better offender. I honeslty think both have the ability to become frindge all stars. I have changed my opinion in the last few weeks with regaurds to the Celtics going after Rivers. It will be to much of a distraction to the team. Also as a previous poster pointed out a three guard rotaiion with every member under 6’5 isnt ideal.

PJ3 on Boston would absolutely be a star.  Letting KG and Pierce show him how to be a pro and Rondo get him easy looks?  If it’s in him, the Celts would bring it out.  Boston is also set in the backcourt and really needs help up front badly, so it’s hard to see them going after Rivers, despite the Doc connection.

Stop Stealing my Ideas guys, and if you do Then please give credit where credit is due…