2. Avery Bradley will bounce back
Many if not most Lakers fans are unfamiliar with Bradley’s game. He was drafted by Boston in 2010 and played seven seasons there. In his final four years with the Celtics he averaged 15 PPG (ranging from 13.9 to 16.3 points) while connecting on nearly 37% of his three-point attempts. He also made the NBA All-Defensive first team once and second team another year.
He spent half a season in Detroit in 2017 with slightly better offensive stats (17.1 PPG, 38% from behind the arc) before being sent to the Clippers in the Blake Griffin trade midway through the year. But a groin injury limited him to just six games the rest of that season.
Last year his 49 games with the Clippers were his worst since his rookie season. He says that his groin took longer than expected to fully heal and he was also slowed by other minor injuries. Just as he started to fully recover, he was traded to Memphis. In his final 14 games there, he scored a career-high 18.3 PPG and shot 38% from long distance while also averaging a career best 4.6 assists per game.
Reason for the prediction: Bradley, who will turn 29 in November, insists he feels 100% physically and is ready to pick up where he left off with Memphis. If he can indeed resemble the solid player he was with the Grizzlies, Pistons and Celtics, and not repeat his desultory 55-game stint with the Clippers, the Lakers may have gotten quite a bargain.
The Lakers do not need a traditional point guard in their starting lineup because the offense will run through James. Avery is more of a combo guard. At 6-2, he may be well-suited to defend smaller first-rate guards like Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Lou Williams and Mike Conley, to name a few. On offense, he can also nail the open three and penetrate to the hoop.
A healthy Bradley can provide the best combination of offense, defense and ball-handling of any Lakers backcourt player on the roster. With defenses likely to double-team both Davis and James, it will be important for Lakers guards to hit their open shots. Bradley can fill that role and become an important component to the team’s success.