Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons Avery Bradley will be an impact player

(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

4. He can create and score

It’s one thing to be able to advance the ball upcourt and organize a set offense, but being able to call your own number and score consistently adds another dimension to your game.

Bradley has a career scoring average of 12.0 points per game. That doesn’t sound impressive, but he didn’t play major minutes his first couple seasons, which skews his scoring average. He didn’t really become the player we know him as until his fourth season when he averaged 14.9 points.

Starting with that season, he has averaged 14.0 points per game in 31.8 minutes a game on an effective field goal percentage of 49.9 percentage.

He also has a well-balanced offensive game. He has the ability to penetrate and finish at the rim both on the break and in the halfcourt, and he can even occasionally throw it down despite standing only 6-foot-2 and weighing just 180 pounds.

He has shown a bit of a midrange game, as he can hit the floater in the lane while on the move.

He is also a decent three-point shooter, both on catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble. His efficiency from that distance has fluctuated a bit over the years, but his career average is 36.4 percent, which is above average.

Bradley also moves without the ball pretty well, reading the defense and reacting by cutting to the basket for easy layups.

As a result, he can not only help LeBron with bringing the ball upcourt, he can also relieve him of some of the burdens of scoring tons of points to give the Lakers a chance to win each game.