Avery Bradley will never stop blocking Dwyane Wade
Avery Bradley is no stranger to battling Dwyane Wade. In fact, one of his trademark defensive moments came against the future Hall-of-Famer back in 2012 when he swatted away a Wade layup. That play that still makes the rounds on Bradley highlight reels regularly.
[fragment number=0]
Monday night in Miami, Bradley renewed his rivalry with the Heat shooting guard and came out on top, scoring a team-high 25 points to key a 105-95 road win for the Celtics.
Wade managed to score a game-high 30 points in the setback, but Bradley was able to shut down the Heat’s top scorer late in the fourth quarter with a pair of pivotal defensive plays. First, Bradley stripped the Heat star in the midst of a 6-0 Heat run that had cut the Celtics lead to five with five minutes remaining. Moments later, Bradley managed to turn back the clock a little bit with a swat of Wade that was reminiscent of his 2012 rejection.
[fragment number=1]
Bradley’s block helped seal the win for Boston, as the visitors put the game away on the other end with an Evan Turner layup that pushed the lead to eight with just 38 seconds remaining.
While the 25-year-old’s defense has always been his calling card in the NBA, it isn’t just Bradley’s containment of Wade in crunch time that’s turning heads. Bradley’s offense has been an invaluable weapon for the Celtics since returning from a calf injury in the middle of November as well.
The shooting guard has scored in double digits for ten straight games since returning on November 15, posting 19.4 points on 50.7 percent shooting during that span. He’s also hit a sizzling 45.3 percent of his shots from 3-point range while attempting 6.4 per game, making any miss seem like a surprise lately.
[fragment number=2]
With Marcus Smart (leg) out of the fold for at least another couple weeks, Brad Stevens will need to continue to heavily lean on Bradley thanks to the team’s weak depth on the wing. If the last three weeks are any indication, the longest tenured Celtic appears to be up for the challenge.
33 awesome Larry Bird photos you won’t remember
[bdc-gallery id=”146679″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com