I think there are coaches out there that can do better than Stevens. Hes great for a team with no expectations and no big stars, but when he had stars and the expectations are there, he doesnt rise to the occasion. I just dont see a killer instinct. I see a good teacher who doesn't take winning as the ultimate goal. His ultimate goal is did we compete. To win a title you need to step on teams when you have them down...we always let them off the mat. He doesnt know how to deliver the knockout blow...he'd rather keep substituting.
Has anyone noticed since the Rockets beat us teams are playing big lineups against them and the Rockets are paying the price for small ball. What did the Celtics do...we played small ball too. SMH
I agree with pretty much everything said here. I've been keeping an eye on the Rockets since we've played them and teams are just going big on them and pounding them inside. What did Stevens do? He went super small and played right into their hands. The Rockets have lost 4 in a row and have not looked good, but against the Celtics they had an absolute field day.
GreenRunsDeep nailed it. Stevens is a good teacher but he does not go all out to win. Who would we replace Stevens with? How about a coach who simply wants to win above all else? Isn't that why we're watching these games? I'm not watching 82 games so that Stevens can play 11 guys and tinker with lineups from game to game. It is ridiculous.
Which coach out there do you propose?
The Raptors fired Dwayne Casey after he led them to the playoffs however many years in a row and went with Nick Nurse who immediately led them to a title. Dwyane Casey is not a bad coach, neither is Brad Stevens. Sometimes you just have to shake things up if you see it's not working. The Raptors play HARD every single game. They've only had like 1 or 2 bad losses all year. Nick Nurse plays his guys bigger minutes because they are trying to win at all costs. I'm so tired of this notion that playing a guy 38 minutes every 2 days will cause injuries. Brad Stevens doesn't play anyone on this roster big minutes and yet this is one of the more injury riddled teams in the entire NBA year after year. To answer the question i'm not sure who the new coach would be but i just want a coach who wants to win. Brad Stevens is not it.
So ... if we fire Brad ... that means we will (a) sign a Kawhi-level superstar and (b) get lucky as our opponents in the playoffs crumble under the weight of injuries?
Sounds like a plan!
I've watched Kawhi a lot this year and he does not look like the player i saw last year in a Raptors uniform. Maybe his injury is getting the best of him or maybe Nurse is that good of a coach? The Raptors right now even without Kawhi look like a well oiled machine. He's clearly an outstanding coach who is somehow able to get his players to play hard every single night. The same cannot be said of Stevens.
Kawhi was a god last year Raptors the stuff of legends we'll see in the playoffs if he steps up I think he will
I just don't know if the Clippers supporting cast is better then Toronto's I don't think it is.
Brad Stevens had one year with Isiah Thomas and a rundown eastern Conference everyone thought he was the man but really he isn't.
Nick Nurse is a genius everything that is not supposed to work in the NBA box and 1 different zones man to man out of bounds plays pick and pops pick and rolls he has made his players perfect all of them and they won a championship last year because of it.
Pretty sure that (a) Kawhi being a god and (b) a huge amount of luck (A clutch shot bouncing in against the Sixers and a ridiculous ton of injuries for the Warriors) were pretty big contributors to the championship as well.
Nurse is a good coach. But let's be careful not to oversell here. If that shot doesn't bounce in or if the Warriors don't lose Durant, Klay, et al, then the 'genius' narrative is probably quite different.
That's ridiculous the Warriors faced a plethora of injured teams on their way to 5 straight finals
LeBron lost in 2015 with Kyrie and Love out... Injuries are part of the game luck has nothing to do with that.
The fact that Toronto lost its BEST player and one of top 3 players in the world and still have the 3rd best record in the league is a big accomplishment and it starts with the head office and coaching staff
Yes, the Warriors themselves have benefited from injuries to their opponents as well in their title-winning years. Winning a title takes being good and a ton of
luck.
The Raptors, similar to the Bucks, have built this year's record by pummeling sub-.500 teams. They are 35-4 against teams with a losing record and only 11-14 against teams with a .500 or better record.
Even with the stumbles of the last 5 games, which includes 2 losses by 1 point each to winning teams, the Celtics have a 14-11 record against winning teams.
And the Celtics have played the majority of their games this year while missing one or more of their top 4 players from THIS year's roster. They have had all 4 of Kemba, Jaylen, Gordon & Tatum available in just 19 of 63 games this year. The last 5 games have feature 5 different starting lineups!
TOR lost Kawhi in the offseason. They have otherwise been relatively healthy this year with the players that are on THIS year's roster. So I'm sorry, but I'm simply not really all that in awe of what Toronto has done.
Topic: Brad Stevens forget how to close? (Read 9642 times)