Every morning, we compile the links of
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Against my strong suggestion — and I have been wrong before, believe it or not — the Celtics chose youth, a Russell Westbrook-clone who can play both guard positions but is the athlete the Celtics desperately need.
Bradley is not a reach here, and the pick displays some long-range thinking from president Danny Ainge and Rivers. Instead of taking a player short on potential but who could help immediately, the Celtics brass decided to take the best on-ball defender available — Bradley — and deal with their shortage of big men in free agency.
Doc: “I love his speed. I can tell you that - he has unbelievable speed. He has a good in-between game. He can make the spot-up jump shots. He’s an NBA defender right now. He can play point guard defense on anybody in the league, and that’s huge for us. But he has to learn the position, he has to learn how to be a point guard, so with (Rajon) Rondo in front of him, (Rondo will) be a good teacher.”
I'm seeing a lot of reaction to Avery Bradley and Luke Harangody as "The C's just drafted Tony Allen Jr. and Brian Scalabrine's replacement."
That's not exactly the case. It's not that I can't see why people would say that. Bradley's a defensive guy who's mainly going to take it to the hoop and play defense. But let's not color this guy's future with Tony Allen's past.
Bradley is a much better shooter and ballhandler. Hell, you look at his shooting form you'll already forget the Tony Allen comparison. But TA is more of a 2/3 tweener while Bradley is more of a "combo guard" who can handle the 1 and the 2.
What does this pick mean? Well... as Chuck and I said on last night's Two Man Game... this shows what the C's are looking for down the line: athletic guys who will run with Rondo... or at the very least keep up Rondo's pace. He'll have a year, if the team gets back together for one more run, to learn under Rondo and maybe Ray Allen. But then he'll be on his own in a back court with Rondo leading (we hope) fast break after fast break.
As for Harangody... let's not look at the goofy looking, red-headed, white guy and say "oh, we've got Scal's seat-filler." I'll echo the comment that was made last night: You don't average 22 and 9 in the Big East because you suck. The kid knows how to play the game. There are some serious questions as to whether some of the things that worked in college will work in the pros... but he can ball. He'll at least come into camp with an opportunity to win a spot.
Of course, it's way too early to judge this draft. The Harangody pick, as with all 2nd rounders, is a no-risk pick that could turn out to be a Danny Ainge magic special. Bradley seems to be a pretty good player who may be able to contribute right away. So overall, a decent job by the C's last night.On Page 2, Perk's knee could be worse than we thought
After some confusion over the condition of Kendrick Perkins, Danny Ainge said last night the team now believes that the Celtics center may have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Game 6 against the Lakers. It was initially believed that Perkins had turn the medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligaments in the knee.
Both may also be partially torn, according to Ainge. All information, based at the moment on an MRI exam, won’t be known until Dr. Brian McKeon finally performs the surgery. Though initially penciled in for today, Ainge said last night that Perkins may not have surgery for another week in an attempt to allow the swelling to subside.
Ainge also said it is unknown whether Perkins’ recovery from surgery will mean missing the first part of next season.
Herald: Perkins may have torn ACL This is bad. Not gonna lie. Surgery was supposed to happen today but it's been delayed because the swelling hasn't gone down enough. We're going to have to see what the C's do to fill the holes in the front court. One option is Semih Erden, the 2nd round pick from a couple of years ago that is currently playing overseas. He'll probably come into camp in a few months. Then the C's will have to dip into the free agent pool and hopefully find something good enough to get them through the first half of the season. But don't expect Perk until around Christmas. These surgeries are tough... especially for a big dude like Perk who will put a lot of pressure on that knee as he runs and jumps. The rest of the links: Herald: Defense: a way of life | Agent: Wallace set to retire | Heinsohn, Sanders feel the hurt | Doc's decision coming soon | Globe: Celtics go with a point guard | From the top, it's all sensible | Agent believes Wallace is done | WEEI: Cloudy skies on the horizon | For Celtics, Bradley was too good to pass up | ESPN Boston: Doc: "I'm still an employee" | Analysis: Bradley and Boston | CSNNE: Avery Bradley, by the numbers