Shrewsberry: Stevens Really Beat Himself up Over Last Season

[PhoSita]

"This season’s struggles, however, remain somewhat confounding for the coaching staff. Shrewsberry said it was frustrating that the Celtics were unable to identify the root of their struggles. If they had, he said, perhaps they could have found an elixir before it was too late."

Most people could see the problems easily enough.  So, absolutely, the Celtics should start with figuring out why they were so blind.

I immediately jumped at the same exact quote.

The notion that the issues, "remain somewhat confounding" to them is disturbing.

I'm wondering if the implication to that quote is that they were trying to find a "root" to the struggles other than the players themselves / chemistry / buy-in etc, and they simply couldn't find one. 

As the article makes clear, Brad is loathe to put the blame on the players.  I wouldn't be surprised if he and his coaching staff are committed to not putting out any message that might imply that they're placing responsibility on the players.

"We couldn't figure out a way to get the players on the same page and trusting each other" might seem too close to that sort of message.



I think most people who watched this team all year recognize that there wasn't a basketball x-and-o answer to what ailed this team.  Game of Zones nailed that dynamic.

[PhoSita]

Hope he finally stops tinkering with substitutions and rotations for half the season to "build data". Its a big chemistry killer that he does every year repeatedly.

yet, two years ago the team chemistry was great and we all loved the scrappy, hard-working celtics.

Exactly.  I get why people have issues with the frequent rotation experimentation and the heavy emphasis on outside shooting.  I have problems with the same things sometimes.

It doesn't make sense to peg those as the culprit for the team's problems this year, considering that Brad has coached the team that way ever since he started in Boston and before this season the team has consistently overachieved and the chemistry has (reportedly and apparently) been above average. 

This was the first season in Brad's tenure that the team underachieved and the players acted, played, and sounded (in the media) like an unhappy group.

The question, then, is "What was different this year?"

[mmmmm]

"This season’s struggles, however, remain somewhat confounding for the coaching staff. Shrewsberry said it was frustrating that the Celtics were unable to identify the root of their struggles. If they had, he said, perhaps they could have found an elixir before it was too late."

Most people could see the problems easily enough.  So, absolutely, the Celtics should start with figuring out why they were so blind.

I immediately jumped at the same exact quote.

The notion that the issues, "remain somewhat confounding" to them is disturbing.

He may be trying to avoid throwing anybody under the bus. Unlike Rozier

You don't have to throw someone under the bus to say something like:   "We have confidence we understand where we went wrong and what we need to do differently."   And you don't have to give up names when pressed.

I'd argue that the quote by Shrewsberry actually does throw someone under the bus:  The coaching staff.

[SHAQATTACK]

root of the problem is selfishness

on the part of ALOT of the whole,organization.

[mmmmm]

"This season’s struggles, however, remain somewhat confounding for the coaching staff. Shrewsberry said it was frustrating that the Celtics were unable to identify the root of their struggles. If they had, he said, perhaps they could have found an elixir before it was too late."

Most people could see the problems easily enough.  So, absolutely, the Celtics should start with figuring out why they were so blind.

I immediately jumped at the same exact quote.

The notion that the issues, "remain somewhat confounding" to them is disturbing.

I'm wondering if the implication to that quote is that they were trying to find a "root" to the struggles other than the players themselves / chemistry / buy-in etc, and they simply couldn't find one. 

As the article makes clear, Brad is loathe to put the blame on the players.  I wouldn't be surprised if he and his coaching staff are committed to not putting out any message that might imply that they're placing responsibility on the players.

"We couldn't figure out a way to get the players on the same page and trusting each other" might seem too close to that sort of message.



I think most people who watched this team all year recognize that there wasn't a basketball x-and-o answer to what ailed this team.  Game of Zones nailed that dynamic.

I dunno.   There were certainly some basic 'basketball x-and-o' things that multiple folks called out during the year that might have helped and that Brad himself finally seemed to go to at the end of the season .... when it was way too late to save the season.

Two things to me screamed, "BAD COACHING DECISION", from the beginning.

1) Having Jaylen lose his starting spot due to injury.   Yes, Jaylen started the year in a horrible shooting slump (aggravated by an injured hand).   But in early-mid November, he made a change in his scoring strategy that immediately got him positive results and put together a string of 4 games with much improved results.  He then fell hard on a dunk attempt (his legs got swept) and he missed a couple of games with a sore lower back.  During that his spot was taken by Smart and Jaylen never got his start back.  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  It's bad coaching mojo to let your players think they have to hide injuries or risk losing their spot.    Jaylen, despite the demotion continued the upward trend he already started before he got benched, playing better and better as the year progressed.  Finally as the season came to a close -- after weeks and weeks of Morris shooting terribly -- Brad re-inserted Jaylen back in the starting lineup.   Long after it was obvious he should have made that move.

2) One-big lineups and the failure to learn from the prior two seasons.   During the prior two seasons Al Horford played a HUGE chunk of his minutes at the 4.   In 2017-18 roughly 45% of his minutes were at the 4, with a true C like Baynes next to him.   And he put up great numbers and more importantly the team results were fantastic in those configurations.   So .... what does Brad do this year?   For most of the season he kept Al planted at the 5 with no true big next to him.  Al played over 90% of his minutes at the 5 -- often with a wing as the #4.  Morris is big for a wing, but he's not a true big. And he's certainly not a 5.   This saw us getting killed in pick & rolls by teams with hard rolling bigs.   Our overall DRtg for the season looked decent ... but was largely inflated by the first few weeks of the season.  From late November on our defense steadily went down the toilet.    Finally, in the closing games of the season, Brad returned to playing Baynes up front WITH Horford instead of only as substitute for him.   This was, again, extremely effective.  But too late.

Note - I am not necessarily advocating that Baynes should have been starting all the time again.   I'm just bewildered that Brad almost completely abandoned the use of two-big front courts this season, even situationally during bench overlap.

So basically these are two, imho, basic "basketball x-and-o" decisions that BRAD HIMSELF MADE .... but way too late.  Way later than was obvious to many should have been made.

[tstorey_97]

Stevens isn't going to "change". If you want him to change? Fire him.

Most of the team and mgt vcontributed to the poor showing.

Ainge skipped building a front court....how did that go?
 
Ainge, I'm sure with Steven's blessing, had Hayward playing a lot of minutes (6th on the team). Hayward averaged 11.5 PPG. He wasn't effective in any way shape or form and, since we aren't talking about next season? He should have played less. You are not playing against a statistical line, you're playing against another team who is scheming against your players. Steven's should have  given him fewer minutes. Maybe it would've gotten him going.

Nobody anywhere in the Celtic's organization had a plan for opposing team's defensive response to Irving. The Bucks essentially hammered him with size and no Celtic plan, coach, teammate or otherwise had an answer. Red Auerbach wouldn't have been caught in that BS.

If Irving getting shut down means the Celtics are out of the playoffs? What does that say about the team?

[PhoSita]

So basically these are two, imho, basic "basketball x-and-o" decisions that BRAD HIMSELF MADE .... but way too late.  Way later than was obvious to many should have been made.

I agree that switching up Jaylen's role the way he did, and not playing the bigs more, are two mistakes that Brad made.


The first one especially I think is easy to point out in retrospect, but maybe not so much at the time.

Jaylen was struggling a lot at the beginning of the season.  The team was much better with him off the floor than on.  The team as a whole was also underachieving.  So it was understandable that Brad was looking for some configuration that worked.  Starting Smart made a difference.

In retrospect though, it's easy to recognize that Jaylen, like most young players, really needs to have a consistent role to which he's had a chance to acclimate in order to thrive.  Changing up his role significantly mid-season really set him back.


As for not using bigs more, I think the explanation there is probably that Brad felt a lot of pressure to try to get the wings and guards on the roster more minutes.  I am sure that the need to reintegrate Hayward while also trying to mollify Rozier and Morris were a major driver of that.



Even acknowledging that those two issues were probably mistakes and that Brad could have handled those issues differently, would either of those things have significantly altered the trajectory of the season?  I dont' think so.


Ultimately the issues that sunk this team were not possible to solve with basic strategy decisions regarding the rotation or the offensive or defensive strategy. 

[ausbacker]

Can start by nullifying the 3-ball philosophy.

Sucking our bigs out of the paint to stand on the perimeter and jack threes because floor spacing was infuriating. As fun as it is to see Al and Baynes jack up shots, they need to be closer to the rim.

[Phantom255x]

Here's a solution.

Either Ainge builds this roster filled with 3-point shooters and 1-2 stars just like Daryl Morey built the Rockets roster, or Stevens changes his schemes.

The truth is, our team is basically a "live by the 3, die by the 3" team. And unfortunately, while there were chemistry issues, the other problem was that we just didn't have the roster built for this scheme. We got owned by Milwaukee's bigs and it only got tougher as Baynes got injured in the series. And of course, if the 3s aren't falling, more often than not you'll get blown out.

Give Daryl Morey credit. You can hate the Rockets "jacking up 3s and iso-ball" scheme, but Morey actually constructed the roster to fit D'Antoni's scheme and it nearly led to them beating the Warriors in the last few years (last year, CP3's injury unfortunately cost them).

[Somebody]

As he should. His personnel decisions were terrible this season, hope he comes back stronger.

[mr. dee]

He's making his rotations too complicated for himself. Red's sets are just simple plays that even high schoolers can do. It's a matter of executing it. More often than not, Brad is trying to be cute, especially with 3-guard lineup.

Newsflash for you, Brad:
Bigs are still a necessity, especially if you want to complete defensive plays without getting out rebounded. I also blame Danny for not giving him the right bigs to tinker his rotations.

[Celtics4ever]

Newsflash for you, Brad:
Bigs are still a necessity, especially if you want to complete defensive plays without getting out rebounded. I also blame Danny for not giving him the right bigs to tinker his rotations.

Amen, Death to Small Ball!

[LilRip]

We need a soul box

[SparzWizard]

Can start by nullifying the 3-ball philosophy.

Sucking our bigs out of the paint to stand on the perimeter and jack threes because floor spacing was infuriating. As fun as it is to see Al and Baynes jack up shots, they need to be closer to the rim.

Yup exactly. Guys are just programmed to roll out to the perimeter rather than clogging the lane or be close to the rim. Take the shot from 3, more clanks than swishes and it's frustrating.

Fastbreak 3's are also bothersome too.

[IDreamCeltics]

"This season’s struggles, however, remain somewhat confounding for the coaching staff. Shrewsberry said it was frustrating that the Celtics were unable to identify the root of their struggles. If they had, he said, perhaps they could have found an elixir before it was too late."

Most people could see the problems easily enough.  So, absolutely, the Celtics should start with figuring out why they were so blind.

I immediately jumped at the same exact quote.

The notion that the issues, "remain somewhat confounding" to them is disturbing.

It's disturbing but not surprising.  It explains why Gordon Hayward was getting all Jaylen Brown and Rozier's minutes all season long.