Defensive-minded guard Avery Bradley left the Lakers this offseason and joined the Heat. Here’s the Miami Herald quoting Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra’s analysis of the squad’s new addition:
“You see him as a 6-2, 6-3 guard, but he’s able to literally defend one through four,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And offensively, he’s a player that can fit in any system, because he can play off the ball, you can put the ball in his hands. He can play as a point guard. You can play him running off of dribble hand offs. Or he can just play off of your great players or your great offensive threats. And he’ll find a way to be effective. And that’s what we’ve already seen in a couple of days.
“I know he’s going to make Tyler [Herro] and [Kendrick Nunn] better just from practices. His level of intensity and his on-ball defense is incredible. It’s an area we felt we could improve, not only in player development, but with a personnel addition. He has checked that box, just with what we’ve seen in a short period of time.”
Point-of-attack perimeter defense was a Heat weakness opponents tried to take advantage of last season, with teams repeatedly running isolation sets against players such as Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson in the playoffs.
Bradley (6-3, 180), who turned 30 on Nov. 26, will certainly help in that area this season.
