Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bradley giving Celtics legit force on defense
Avery Bradley has been doing all the little things to get the Celtics over the hump this postseason.
He created a buzz with his playoff-career-high 29 points to give them a 3-2 lead over the Wizards in their Eastern Conference semifinal while backcourt mate Isaiah Thomas was facing double- and triple-teams during Game 5 on Wednesday. But it’s been Bradley’s consistency on defense during the first two rounds that has the top-seeded Celtics on the verge of a conference finals date with the Cavaliers.
Despite playing after suffering his second hip pointer of the series, Bradley annoyed Wizards point guard John Wall throughout, holding him to just 21 points and 17 field-goal attempts. He also limited Wall to a playoff-low four assists — well below his playoff average of 11.1.
In the Celtics’ three wins, Wall has a plus/minus of minus-17.
Bradley said he was inspired by text messages he got from Thomas and Celtics television play-by-play man Mike Gorman.
“They told me they felt it was going to be a big game for me,” Bradley said of his Game 5 performance. “My mindset was just to come out and be aggressive. I wanted to make those guys work on both ends of the floor.”
The Wizards are well aware of Bradley’s ability to disrupt offenses.
“You can’t mess with the ball when he’s guarding you,” guard Bradley Beal said. “You have to keep things simple. Defense is his specialty.”