Avery Bradley has been using some unorthodox methods in his quest to return to the Boston Celtics as quickly as possible.
Avery Bradley
Rehabilitation can be drudgery, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Avery Bradley. To strengthen his two surgically-repaired shoulders, Bradley told CSNNE, he's using several unorthodox methods.
The Boston Celtics guard has been catching footballs to simulate the motion of catching a basketball, and he's also been taking punches from the Celtics training staff -- the trainers have had Bradley put on gloves and take their punches in order to simulate some of the contact he'll meet once he returns to full basketball activity.
If Bradley, who will undergo an examination in two weeks to see if he can return to practice, would just spend the rest of his day playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on the original PlayStation and scouring the pantry for snacks, he'd basically be reenacting my entire high school experience.
Okay, maybe not entirely reenacting my high school experience, since Bradley can once again do one action that always evaded my grasp: dunking a basketball. He said he's been dunking "for awhile," but just recently started to hang on the rim, a positive step since it requires a significant amount of stress on the shoulders.
"I definitely feel the progression every single day," he told CSNNE.
Bradley doesn't know what will be decided at his examination, but he's itching to return to the court.
⨓I can’t really say (what I expect to be told) because it’s not up to me,” he told CSNNE. “I’m just going to continue working hard every day like I’ve been doing. It’s hard for me because some of the stuff I don’t want to do. I hate doing all the conditioning drills because you feel like you’re in shape and it’s like, ‘Man, I do not feel like doing this every single day.’
"That’s how you feel, I rather be playing than running for no reason. That’s probably the hardest part for me. It’s boring to me and I do it every day. I’m in good shape. Obviously when I come back, the adrenaline, I’m going to be tired, I’m going to get so excited. I know I’m going to be going so hard, but I’m going to be fine.”