Can Stevens win with more talent?

[KGBirdBias]

Maybe he's trying to play too many guys and he needs to shorten the rotation.

He's trying to divide minutes evenly and its causing chemistry and game flow issues.

Maybe he's a better coach with marginal talent. I dont know but something is wrong. The young guys are ready to be stars and the vets want them to play a role. Going to the ECF really blew up some heads last year.

[Kiorrik]

I reckon a large part is the fact that now, teams are far more ready for us. Large Target on our back due to last season.

Wouldn't soon blame the coach or vets. Nor would I blame the rookies for being too bigheaded.

I'd just say last year, we had an element of surprise. Now that this is gone, it gets more difficult.

Just my 2p.

[Somebody]

He could if he could stop getting so infatuated with small ball and versatility.

[Tr1boy]

No

Especially dealing with this many egos in one lineup

[rondofan1255]

I vote Yes He can
we'll see come playoff time

[PhoSita]

Yes.

The issue with this team is not talent, it's an inconsistent and inexperienced supporting cast.

Show me a team that contended for a title with so few seasoned role players.

[droopdog7]

The team has clear chemistry issues based on the composition.  Blame the coach but the talent is not as high and assumed and the pieces are a really bad fit.

[Celtics4ever]

I think what the OP was implaying is can CBS win with a talented team, he seems much better with underdogs.

[Chief]

Too much similar talent...that's the problem.

[cman88]

Too much similar talent...that's the problem.

yes, but coaching has definitely been a problem this year. Some of Brads rotations have been questionable at best. and how many times this season do we need to see a 10point lead evaporate before Brad calls a timeout.

Far too often he seems to let players play through runs and poor play when really we need a timeout.

[SHAQATTACK]

Too much similar talent...that's the problem.

good point .  and nobody wanting the IT role or alpha role on the court .  Hayward , Al , and Kyrie ducking the on court leadership roles.   Off the court Al is great role model. 

CBS is not tuff enough , time outs have always been a weakness .

[Chief]

Too much similar talent...that's the problem.

good point .  and nobody wanting the IT role or alpha role on the court .  Hayward , Al , and Kyrie ducking the on court leadership roles.   Off the court Al is great role model. 

CBS is not tuff enough , time outs have always been a weakness .

Last night when Orlando needed a easy basket...Vucevic is the post.

Time to trade Rozier and Baynes for Vucevic.

Orlando is looking for a starting pg.

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yayd8zrk

[Chief]

Too much similar talent...that's the problem.

good point .  and nobody wanting the IT role or alpha role on the court .  Hayward , Al , and Kyrie ducking the on court leadership roles.   Off the court Al is great role model. 

CBS is not tuff enough , time outs have always been a weakness .

Smart is definitely the alpha but Kyrie wants to be.

[Green-18]

This is a boring take on my part, but I think it's very difficult to evaluate Brad based on this particular group.  I think ANY coach in the league would run into chemistry issues with this team.  I've seen people suggest that Brad needs to put the players in their place and shorten the rotation.  My concern with this approach is that it would have probably divided the locker room very early, and potentially to the point of becoming toxic.  It's a shortsighted approach IMO. 

We already know that Rozier and Brown are struggling to find their niche within this team.  I can't picture them responding to a dramatic reduction in minutes, especially after the playoff run from last year.  This also means Brad would have needed to reduce Tatum's minutes due to inconsistent effort on both ends.  There can't be any double standards.  So now we have a scenario where Irving, Smart, Morris and Hayward are taking most of the minutes from the young guys.

It might not be fun to watch, but I think the patient approach from Brad is correct.  Brad and Danny will learn quite a bit by the end of the season.  It's only a matter of time before our talent is consolidated in some form.  This will allow Danny to bring in some veteran role players. 

One thing we know is that Brad will have plenty of talent as long as Irving stays in Boston.  I think we should reserve final conclusions until he has a talented roster with the proper mix of veterans.  As I mentioned before, I think ANY coach would have run into issues trying to balance the minutes with this group.

[CF033]

Maybe he's trying to play too many guys and he needs to shorten the rotation.

He's trying to divide minutes evenly and its causing chemistry and game flow issues.

Maybe he's a better coach with marginal talent. I dont know but something is wrong. The young guys are ready to be stars and the vets want them to play a role. Going to the ECF really blew up some heads last year.

I agree with this, it often seems like his priority is to not play guys for too many minutes so he winds up sitting guys that are hot or getting hot. Other coaches seem to know to ride the hot hands until they aren't anymore but it seems to make no difference to CBS rotation how guys are performing in the game.

That said if this season winds up in failure, IMO that's 50 wins or less, it'll be more about our team composition and less about coaching.