Avery Bradley has established himself as one of the best defenders in the NBA and he's made multiple All-Defensive teams. He was one of the biggest reasons why the Boston Celtics were the best Eastern conference team in the last regular season, and he is known for locking down opponents, especially on the perimeter.
Bradley was recently traded to the Detroit Pistons as the Celtics needed to clear up the cap space to sign Gordon Hayward. They got a great defender in the 26-year-old guard, who held a Twitter Q&A yesterday.
One of the questions Bradley was asked was who is the toughest guy to defend in the NBA.
The shooting guard answered, saying that it's Kyrie Irving. It seems that Bradley was sure in his answer as he said that it's not even close. Considering this comes from one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, Irving should definitely feel good about himself and his offensive game.
Irving vs. Bradley: Head-to-head
Avery Bradley and Kyrie Irving have played 16 games against each other in the regular season and nine games in the playoffs. Despite the fact that Bradley is such a great defender, he hasn't done a great job guarding Irving as the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard was very efficient against him.
Kyrie. Not even close. - AB https://t.co/8cEKwtSu6O
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) July 13, 2017
In the regular season, Irving averaged 23.1 points and 5.0 assists per game against Bradley.
He also shot 50.2 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from the long range. Irving also had a 40-point game against his opponent, and he shot 67 percent in the game. Thanks to his big performances, the Cavaliers won nine out of 16 games against the Boston Celtics and Avery Bradley.
In the playoffs, Irving won eight out of nine times and he was great once again.
The Cavs guard averaged, even more, points in the postseason as he scored 24.7 points per game. He shot incredibly well from the field, making 53.1 percent of his shots and 49.1 percent from the three-point land. Irving had a 40-point game against Bradley in the playoffs as well, as he scored 42 points on 22 shots this year.
Bradley and Detroit
Bradley will no longer play in Boston where he established himself as a great defender. Instead, he will continue his career in Detroit with the Pistons. The guard has only one more year left on his contract and there is no doubt there will be high demand for him when he becomes a free agent next summer.
Considering that the Pistons could make the playoffs next year and that they are in the same division as the Cavaliers, we will see much more Bradley-Irving matchups.