Some say the problem is Ainge. Some say the problem is Stevens. Some say there is no problem.
Well, there must be a problem--they haven't won a title in 13 years. That's very un-Celtic. Subtract the disastrous Gaston years.
My take is I think Stevens and Ainge aren't on the same page on everything. Stevens is basically a perimeter coach. He likes wingish guys who roam the perimeter bombing 3s.
He likes guys who can p & r. He's not terribly concerned about the paint. He doesn't appear to value players having certain roles, and sticking to those roles. The title Celtics teams have always had players who knew their roles. They were balanced teams.
Danny was a 2-guard. A designated 3P shooter with Bird. He favors the 3. But he also played on teams that were strong up front on both offense and defense. Well balanced teams.
The Stevens era teams are consistently weak up front--in the paint. I'm not sure who's at fault here. I know Stevens has said he never coached bigs at Butler, because he couldn't recruit good ones. I know Ainge has signed a number of bigs the past few years, but they haven't had much impact--mostly because they haven't played much. Horford and Baynes were part of the regular rotation, but lately it's been just Theis. Other guys just haven't gotten many minutes. Theis is used as a starting 5, but I see him as a back up 4. Danny signs a guy like Tacko Fall, who showed in pre season games a couple years back he could put up a brick wall around the paint. But he doesn't get much respect from the coach--except maybe to trot him out there in wipeouts, like a clown. And make a fool out of himself on the perimeter with p & r's. Robert Williams has one of the best per minute stats in the league, but doesn't get many minutes. Granted his durability is questionable. And now we have TT, a paint specialist, which Stevens seems to abhor. Stevens way of dealing with TT is to start him next to Theis, and leave his PG, Teague, on the bench. That hasn't worked out very well, no surprise there.
What I see here is a team full of talented players, few of whom seem to have specific roles. Smart we know is a defense guy, but he is often seen on the perimeter bombing away with inefficient shots. The rest of the team, I don't know. You got two superstar players in Tatum and Brown, plus Walker in rehab. And a great defensive guy, Smart. But after that, I have no idea. Pritchard shows some promise as a shooter. I will say that.
So there you have it. I just wonder if Ainge and Stevens are on the same page on everything. I have my doubts. It's your turn, Wyc.
Topic: Is Brad Stevens the problem? (Read 29404 times)