Danny Ainge believes Avery Bradley is likely to miss the start of next NBA season
The Boston Celtics will be missing a key piece of their new roster when they open their 2012-2013 season against Eastern conference arch rivals Miami Heat. The Celtics will be without shooting guard Avery Bradley, as it is now
looking improbable that he will return to the squad for training camp and the start of the regular season.
Bradley was the shooting guard replacement for Ray Allen, when he was sidelined with injury at the end of last season. He started in 28 regular season games for the Celtics and averaged 7.6 points per game, going 49.8% from the
field and 40.7% from the distance. Bradley also brought a great defensive mindset to the team, and was badly missed by the Celtics in the playoffs, where they had no reserve players to back up the Celtics aging and injured shooting guard Allen.
Bradley talked with A.Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and said:
“I don’t know anything. They just want me to get healthy. That’s all they really tell me. They don’t really give me time frames.”
Danny Ainge, President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, also talked to CSNNE.com and was more cautious:
“We know there’s a possibility that Avery won’t be able to play the first month of the season. So we have to be prepared for that. You never know how these things play out; will it be a month? Or two months? I don’t think it’ll
be much longer than that, or he could be back sooner.”
The Celtics will miss no doubt him when they open the next season, but unlike the last season they will know they have the luxury of a good and deep bench to cover up for his absence in the opening month or two.
The Greens acquired guard Jason Terry in free agency this summer, and also added Courtney Lee to their line-up. Both are good shooting guards, and Terry can play at both the 1 and 2 positions.
They will be distributing much of the playing time amongst themselves when the regular season commences, and will look to hold the fort down till the time Bradley returns. Who knows, maybe they use the opportunity to solidify their
position in the starting line-up.
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