stevens is treated like a wunderkind in the nba. but the celtics have never really overperformed in a playoff run as far as i can tell. he got swept by cleveland the first time, which was understandable, but the 4-2 loss to atlanta the next year was considered a bad showing. their best overall accomplishment was probably the conference finals with kyrie hurt, but they were still the 2 seed that year and the east is the east so it wasn't crazy. the year before they were about to lose to the 8th seed until rondo got hurt and then got dominated in the ECF. last year was pretty bad, though it was blamed on kyrie. this year wasn't bad because miami is a team of destiny right now, but losing to them isn't an amazing achievement either.
Absolutely. He's been coaching in the (L)eastern Conference all these years and still no finals appearances. At least he had a built in excuse that Lebron was in his way, but whats the excuse the last 2 years?
Sometimes there's a bit of over emphasis on the impact of coaching. Sure it's important, but at the end of day it's the players who have to play the game. The best strategies in the world won't mean much if players can't execute. They are in the ECF, didn't necessary flame out like 76ers or the Bucks. NBA being what it is, coach are the one of the firsts to get blame after losing. Job security wise Stevens is still safe. --- It like school. A student having good teachers definitely helps. But in the end, it's mostly on the student to put in the work to study, memorize, learn and do well on the exams.
yes, although he’s still in the upper echelon of coaches My question is this tho, if MDA is always getting killed for not getting over the hump, when will that same energy be given to Brad Stevens? MDA’s at least been in the West losing to the Spurs, Warriors, and Lakers. his playoff record is just 37-36 in the East
He seems like he over coaches. Sometimes you just gotta let your best players do their thing and make the decision. Prime example was bringing in Tacko Fall for the inbounds play by the Raps.. next thing you know he's not even standing in the line of sight of the inbounder...
I would say properly rated. People acknowledge him as a good coach but they are more on Nurse and Spoelstra jock nowadays. People aren't all over Steven like they were a few years ago.
To be fair to Stevens, MDA has had Harden, CP3 and Westbrook. That's 2 MVPs, a point guard that can be talked about as one of the best PGs ever, an all-time best offensive player ever, a walking triple-double, etc. Boston, despite having young stars like Tatum and Brown, don't have that same personnel. Stevens became Celtics HC in 2013. Boston's rosters from 2013-2016 were not good at all; it wasn't until the C's drafted Brown in 2016 and then Tatum, that the Celtics became "good." Honestly, I wouldn't blame Boston for moving on from Stevens - not that he's a bad coach, per se, but maybe both parties need a change of scenery. If I was Ainge, though, I'd give Stevens 1 or 2 more years. Tatum and Brown can develop into super-duper stars and with Kemba and Hayward there, that's a solid foundation. Next year though, it's finals or bust.
Feel like his teams have overachieved almost every season except last years Kyrie-led team which actually had championship expectations. With a young duo of Tatum and Brown for the next 5-6 years, I fully expect them to make a championship run at some point in that span and anything less should be considered a failure. Maybe that's just me being super high on Tatum I guess.
Who is their best healthy player and how well do the celtics do? Stevens is a net positive coach and could win a championship if he had the best player on the court. He's better MDA, and I would grab him to coach the Rockets in a heart beat.
Nope, he does need a Lebron type of leader, a veteran superstar who won it all. A bunch of mere green behind ears Allstars ain't doing it. You need a star that is above 6'8. Only the historic team(s) can run a miniature ball system. Secretly the Miami Heat are the home team of the bubble all along and not the Magic. FloRida rep.
I said slightly underrated. Celtics are a solidly constructed team but there's no real star. Tatum hasn't reached that level yet, if he even does.
Ehh yes, he is slightly overrated. However, if I were the Rockets and he was on the market I would win a bidding war to get him. His best attributes are not what are obvious on the sideline. He is very good at player development, establishing a culture and getting his players to play hard. He also is very good at defining roles for players... he works really well with the front office and basketball comes first for him. He also does a good job making adjustments in the off season.... he isn't great at making adjustments in game, but he isn't bad at it either. He isn't a tactician like Carlisle or Spostra or Popovich..... but he is good enough. Remember his two best players are 22 and 23 years old. He can lean on Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart as vets but they haven't really won anything themselves and they have limitations. They played three really close games against the Heat and were 1-2, so it isn't like they completely crumbled... and the Heat have been on fire in the playoffs.
On paper . .. the Celts were more talented than the heat I was disappointed that Kemba seems to have stepped back . .. I thought he was the next Harden Hayward is oft injured. . but looks mediocre as hell I think Brown is solid and consistent .. . maybe moreso than Tatum Coach Brad did not coach them up at all . . .. Rocket River
His days in Boston are numbered. Eventually Tatum and Brown are going to either tune him out or realize they need another coach that can take them to the next level. Jordan needed to move on from Collins. Steph/Klay/Draymond needed to move on from Mark Jackson. The Spurs needed to move on from Bob Hill.
Slightly overrated/Properly rated Gregg Popovich Erik Spoelstra Rick Carlisle Nick Nurse Steve Kerr Brad Stevens Frank Vogel Quin Snyder Mike Budenholzer Mike Malone Glenn Rivers Terry Stotts Dwane Casey Monty Williams Billy Donovan Tom Thibodeau Steve Clifford Scott Brooks Taylor Jenkins James Borrego Lloyd Pierce Ryan Saunders Luke Walton JB Bickerstaff Sixers: Vacant Pacers: Vacant Pelicans: Vacant Rockets: Vacant Thunder: Vacant Nets: Steve Nash
What's funny/ironic is that the perfect coach for this Boston team would be the guy manning the fort for the team that almost took the Celtics out in the last round with less talent on his roster.
MDA is where he is in part because of the length of time - I think he has more wins than any other coach in history who hasn't made the finals. Also, MDA is in high demand for all the major openings out there, so I'm not sure that many people are down on him. The other issue MDA suffers from is the whole team's arrogance, largely stemming from Morey. The Rockets team talks a lot about how awesome they are - having the best player ever, being smarter than everyone else (why be stupid like everyone else and take midrange shots?), etc. When they don't live up to it, they will take heat. You don't hear that kind of stuff coming out of other teams, so they don't make themselves targets.
