Stevens wants to speed up pace of play

[greece66]

I don't doubt CBS said this, but a link with the exact quote would be much appreciated.

[tazzmaniac]

There's different ways to think of pace.  The pace stat measures how quickly you shoot, but I think what Brad wants is the players to move and think with greater pace, move the ball quicker, cut quicker.  I don't think that's a change of philosophy, nor does it require a small ball approach.  Just do what we've been trying to do better and more quickly.

That make more sense.  I don't think the team is particularly suited to be an up tempo team. 

[playdream]

Stevens said he want his player to run faster to their spot, he hope they can "sprint" to it actually

[hwangjini_1]

You can't run without rebounds.

boston is 10th in the nba in total rebounds. i guess they have them and can run, right?

[dreamgreen]

You can't run without rebounds.

boston is 10th in the nba in total rebounds. i guess they have them and can run, right?

They rebounded a LOT better early in the season. As of late not so good!

[Tr1boy]

Doesnt happen if Kyrie pounds the ball

[vjcsmoke]

I disagree.  This is a code for - play more like the Patriots in the Hurry Up, No Huddle offense.

The Celtics should take advantage of their athleticism and youth and run circles around teams before they can get set in their half court defensive shapes.

Run more, move more, score more.  That should be the Celtics motto to leverage their positive qualities.  Stevens knows what he is talking about.  He watches his team everyday in practice.

Celtics should avoid ballstopping, and anything that slows down their play.

I think this is code for "small ball," which doesn't excite me. They've already been playing quite a bit of small ball and it hasn't been going well.

[GreenWarrior]

There's different ways to think of pace.  The pace stat measures how quickly you shoot, but I think what Brad wants is the players to move and think with greater pace, move the ball quicker, cut quicker.  I don't think that's a change of philosophy, nor does it require a small ball approach.  Just do what we've been trying to do better and more quickly.

that's exactly how I understand it. except I guarantee we see less baynes and more 3 PG line ups. and there goes the rebounding.

[ThePaintedArea]

There's different ways to think of pace.  The pace stat measures how quickly you shoot, but I think what Brad wants is the players to move and think with greater pace, move the ball quicker, cut quicker.  I don't think that's a change of philosophy, nor does it require a small ball approach.  Just do what we've been trying to do better and more quickly.

These are good points all, and I would add two things that are critical for coaches at this level: 1) getting into the offense quicker; and 2) generating more early offense.

These two overlap in how fast you're getting the ball up into the front court after you gain possession. Boston is middle-of-the-pack when it comes to forcing turnovers, meaning that the Celtics are getting the ball off of made baskets or defensive rebounds a lot, which are both farther back. One simple solution is to advance the ball with a pass.

Among the starters, Brown, Tatum and especially Irving are highly effective in early offense because of their ability to attack the defense off the dribble. For a middling offense that doesn't get a lot of free throws, getting in the paint in the first seven seconds is a logical goal.

I've always remembered Tommy talking about the 1960's Celtics: "We ran on everything. We ran on made free throws."