Your Morning Dump… Where Avery Bradley wants to be DPOY

Photo by Matt West.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

“That’s my goal: To be Defensive Player of the Year,” Bradley said Monday morning while unveiling a Celtics-themed basketball court for the Goentzel family of Belmont as part of a community initiative that will see Bradley unveil two more courts later this week. “I feel like [the award is] possible for me if I go out there with the right mindset.”

Bradley didn’t just earn a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive first team last season, he was the top vote-getter among all guards and finished behind only San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and Golden State’s Draymond Green in All-Defensive voting totals.

Still, Defensive Player of the Year is a tall task for Bradley. It has been 20 years since a guard won Defensive Player of the Year (Gary Payton in 1996). In the 2016 vote for the award, Bradley finished a distant sixth overall while Leonard and Green dominated the voting totals.

ESPN

While Avery certainly has the skills to become DPOY, name recognition is a big part of the equation. There are some widely popular players in the mix.

Fortunately for Bradley, the Celtics are now on the national radar. Bradley will get a big boost from the additional appearances on national television. He will need to capitalize on the one-on-one matchups with elite scorers like Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, John Wall, etc.

Bradley does need to work on his knockout skills:

On Page 2, I’m seriously questioning RJ Hunter.

“I actually went to dinner with him after he posted it, and he wouldn’t show it,” Hunter said on Saturday, laughing. “I like it. It’s something different. I saw what IT said. IT’s traditional, he’s not into that new stuff. I like it though.”

Earlier this summer, a YouTube video made waves when it alleged that, perhaps, your hairstyle can affect how well you shoot.

Hunter, who is known for his shooting ability, said he believes this theory and has noticed it in his own game.

“I think that’s true, though,” he said. “Whenever I get a haircut, I always shoot the ball so much better. I don’t know what that is. I think it’s the aerodynamics of it or something. It’s something. It’s really legit.”

Mass LIVE

RJ Hunter seems like a nice kid. And maybe he’s just being polite in his praise of Marcus Smart’s new ‘do. Or maybe he’s hoping Smart will go easier on him in practice. 

I’ll never understand why professional athletes let their hair become a distraction. Whether your Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk or Steve Nash. If you are fussing with your hair during a game, it’s a distraction. 

And finally, I don’t think Jaylen Brown likes country music.

#Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown had to listen while #Bulls star Jimmy Butler sings Country songs

(Via @FCHWPO / snap) pic.twitter.com/1J44Oh0PNG

— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) August 29, 2016