There’s no question that the Celtics have entered a rebuilding phase after trading away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, but they still have a chance to have one of the best defensive back-courts in the league with Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley on the floor together.
Bradley established himself as one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA last season. He was named to the All-defensive second team, and according to Synergy Sports, Bradley held his opponents to 30.8 percent field goal shooting while only scoring 31.8 percent of the time. The player Bradley was guarding averaged only 0.697 points per play.
Last year, Rajon Rondo may not have had the same type of dominant defensive season he’s had in the past, but he’s still one of the best defensive point guards in the league when healthy. Rondo is a four time all-defensive point guard, and led the league in steals in the 2009-2010 season. Rondo isn’t the same type of defender as Bradley is - Bradley is an all-out on-ball defender who puts maximum pressure on whoever he’s defending. Rondo is more of a pickpocket, and while he’s also a great help defender, he doesn't neutralize his opponent the way Bradley does.
However, that’s not such a bad thing. The combination can and should give any back-court they play against a lot of trouble. The biggest question mark for both players is health - Bradley only played in 50 games last season, and Rondo only played in 38 games before going down with an ACL injury. The two didn't even play a quarter of the season together, so this year if they could play more games together and generate more chemistry, they'll be a dangerous duo.
No one expects much from the Celtics this season. They’ve seemingly entered a rebuilding era, and are looking towards the future. Even so, Bradley and Rondo can help the team turn around and move into a new era much faster, and it starts with their intensity on the defensive end of the floor.
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