Avery Bradley: “They Don’t Take Plays Off”

Avery Bradley spoke with media this afternoon following the third day of training camp.

There were a few things that were mentioned many times throughout this presser, which was the word “intensity.”

He started off by saying, “You can just feel the energy and intensity in practice.” He followed that discussing the reason he thinks Miami is the perfect fit. He mentioned, “The way they approach the defensive end and all play for each other.”

Defense is clearly the main attribute when discussing Avery Bradley, but he isn’t thinking about individual defensive goals. He said, “We have a goal to be one of the top defenses in the league.”

That mostly had to do with playing with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, since he described how they can be successful together on the defensive end.

Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Kendrick Nunn came up as well, which Avery said, “They’re great players, but most importantly they’re just great dudes.” He went on to say that he admired them for a while throughout the bubble, but getting to know them was what stood out even more.

Erik Spoelstra mentioned yesterday that Avery Bradley can guard 1-4. When Bradley was asked about guarding opposing 4’s, he responded, “I do think the way the league is going, most 4’s are playing outside…I do like the challenge, my whole life I’ve been guarding guys taller and bigger than me…That’s what made me the defender that I am.”

The overall consensus from the media session is that he truly admires the Miami Heat’s body of work, and has been for a long time, since he said, “My family and friends always said you need to play for the Miami Heat.”

And well, now he’s here. And as he said, he’s ready to get started in that first preseason game.