Given how booty Avery Bradley was this season with the Clippers, it’s surprising to me how well he’s playing in Memphis. No one noticed because of the constant drama going on with the other LA team, but he was really not good for the Clippers. Way below his standards, and the standards of all of his fans from his Boston days (who probably fondly remember the days when the Celtics with players like Bradley actually played with heart sometimes). Was I wondering if he had started the interminable slide into total scrubdom eventually ending up in China? Yes. I figured his butt was halfway down the slide and there was nothing at the bottom but meager overseas contracts.
But apparently all he needed was a change of scenery/a team that appreciates his style of play (grit ‘n grind isn’t dead, people, and neither is the art of the midrange jumper), because he’s been great for the Grizzlies. Per 36, he’s scoring more than ever in his career, dishing more dimes than ever in his career, on better efficiency than ever in his career. It’s only been 7 games, so it’s very possible that this is just a hot stretch, but it’s a hotter stretch than I ever could’ve expected.
I hope Grizzlies fans are appreciating this right now. Times may be hard after they got rid of their franchise icon, but there’s some vaguely entertaining basketball still being played.