Brad Stevens tried to reinvent basketball. He's wrong.

[KG Living Legend]

 
 With such conviction he wanted to eliminate the power forward position ball handlers wings swings and Biggs everybody was talking about that all the time around here like it was some sort of basketball gospel.

 In the end I think the guy was 100% wrong with that weird concept he's also seems to be at odds with Danny Ainge in the style of play we're going to continue to play small ball even though we have five legitimate big man on the roster now.

 This will be a telling season for Brad Stevens if he continues to not adapt and play the hand he was dealt instead of trying to fit everybody into his small-ball system and make can't I shoot threes never play Bob Williams, Rarely play Poirier.

 Brad Stevens is officially on the hot seat IMO.

[RPGenerate]

Well, you can think or fabricate any sort of drama you want. Doesn't mean it has any credence to reality. No, Brad and Ainge are not at odds and no, Brad isn't on the hot seat. Plus if you think we have 5 legitimate big men on this team, we have very different definitions of "legitimate big men".

[PhoSita]

It's strange to me that you think Brad invented any of that.  That's been the trend in the NBA for the last 5-8 years.

[green_bballers13]

Brad didn't invent anything. He's following a trend.

[KGs Knee]

I'll say I don't like Brad's coaching style nor his offensive philosophy.  I'm not sure he's actually cut out to lead a team to great success.  Sure, he can get a team to over-achieve to a certain point, but there are serious red flags about his ability to lead multiple stars.  He also seems a bit inflexible in adapting to the talent he has, and at times tries to force the proverbial 'round peg in square hole'.

But Brad certainly did not invent small-ball.  He does cling to it a bit too much, though.  That's partly Ainge's fault for not getting this team some better size, but Brad hasn't always best utilized the size he has been given, either.  I do agree that Brad should be on the hot seat, but I'm not sure he actually is.

[Ty_Unabi]

CBS can only use what he has to work with. He puts people in position to maximize their strengths.

[Silky]

A 3 wing lineup van work very well, imo, if you have the right bigman.

Remember svg system in orlando? 4 out 1 in with Howard as that bigman? Worked well defensively and with better wing talent it could have worked better

Having tatum at pf for example would he completly fine with a center athletic ebough and strong enough to compensate. I believe Williams gets there...but he isnt yet.

I also believe that you can make it work at about 80% with tremendous wing defense.

So I think that either Kanter or Poirer can allow Tatum to play the pf spot as long as smart and brown are in the same lineup to prevent wing blowbys.

[Tr1boy]

I kind of do agree with KLL

But lets not forget he made it to the ECF twice now in  3 seasons....

Last season he had his biggest challenege trying to work with a player that doesnt really "fit" into his system (Irving)

As well with Horford who was disgruntled playing the center position

On the flipside, Baynes was injured last season and Robert Williams was not ready

Ainge could also be blamed for not taking a side and going with it

[KGs Knee]

A 3 wing lineup van work very well, imo, if you have the right bigman.

Remember svg system in orlando? 4 out 1 in with Howard as that bigman? Worked well defensively and with better wing talent it could have worked better

Having tatum at pf for example would he completly fine with a center athletic ebough and strong enough to compensate. I believe Williams gets there...but he isnt yet.

I also believe that you can make it work at about 80% with tremendous wing defense.

So I think that either Kanter or Poirer can allow Tatum to play the pf spot as long as smart and brown are in the same lineup to prevent wing blowbys.

Expecting Kanter to anchor the defense as the lone big man is asking for all sorts of trouble.  By just about every measure Kanter was one of the absolute worst defensive players among bigs over the last few seasons.

[BitterJim]

I'll say I don't like Brad's coaching style nor his offensive philosophy.  I'm not sure he's actually cut out to lead a team to great success.  Sure, he can get a team to over-achieve to a certain point, but there are serious red flags about his ability to lead multiple stars.  He also seems a bit inflexible in adapting to the talent he has, and at times tries to force the proverbial 'round peg in square hole'.

But Brad certainly did not invent small-ball.  He does cling to it a bit too much, though.  That's partly Ainge's fault for not getting this team some better size, but Brad hasn't always best utilized the size he has been given, either.  I do agree that Brad should be on the hot seat, but I'm not sure he actually is.

Do you have any examples of that? It certainly seems like he's done a great job of changing the system based on talent (having Horford as a high-post distributor, giving IT everything he needed to have one of the best scoring seasons ever, playing to Kyrie's strengths with with more iso, etc.)

He's not going to build a system around role players (or late first rounders that may be role players in a few years if they improve a lot), and he'll ask role players to adapt/expand their game to fit better, but that's really what you want with role players. You don't create an entire second offense for the 10 mpg that a min-contract-level-guy plays, you either get someone else that fits the system better or ask them to adapt.

[KGs Knee]

I'll say I don't like Brad's coaching style nor his offensive philosophy.  I'm not sure he's actually cut out to lead a team to great success.  Sure, he can get a team to over-achieve to a certain point, but there are serious red flags about his ability to lead multiple stars.  He also seems a bit inflexible in adapting to the talent he has, and at times tries to force the proverbial 'round peg in square hole'.

But Brad certainly did not invent small-ball.  He does cling to it a bit too much, though.  That's partly Ainge's fault for not getting this team some better size, but Brad hasn't always best utilized the size he has been given, either.  I do agree that Brad should be on the hot seat, but I'm not sure he actually is.

Do you have any examples of that? It certainly seems like he's done a great job of changing the system based on talent (having Horford as a high-post distributor, giving IT everything he needed to have one of the best scoring seasons ever, playing to Kyrie's strengths with with more iso, etc.)

He's not going to build a system around role players (or late first rounders that may be role players in a few years if they improve a lot), and he'll ask role players to adapt/expand their game to fit better, but that's really what you want with role players. You don't create an entire second offense for the 10 mpg that a min-contract-level-guy plays, you either get someone else that fits the system better or ask them to adapt.

Having the team continually jack up threes when they were off in a given game was one glaring mistake.  It's like he had no other pitch beside his fastball.  Also, not using Horford more as a 4 was another big mistake.  He had three wings with egos to satisfy, which is Ainge's fault, but I felt he didn't adapt well to it at all.  He totally mishandled the Hayward situation.

Stevens failed miserably last year.  He could get the team to meet expectations.  That's a big warning sign, to me.

[hwangjini_1]

Well, you can think or fabricate any sort of drama you want. Doesn't mean it has any credence to reality. No, Brad and Ainge are not at odds and no, Brad isn't on the hot seat. Plus if you think we have 5 legitimate big men on this team, we have very different definitions of "legitimate big men".

well stated, so a tp for the post. CBS is not alone in seeing how the nba game is evolving over what it was not that long ago. the post above would seem to celebrate and support not learning and not adapting as a coaching philosophy.

also KGLL, please provide some links, evidence, support for you post. without those, your post doesn't really rise above the level of conjecture and a simple opinion.

[Emmette Bryant]

 With such conviction he wanted to eliminate the power forward position ball handlers wings swings and Biggs everybody was talking about that all the time around here like it was some sort of basketball gospel.

 In the end I think the guy was 100% wrong with that weird concept he's also seems to be at odds with Danny Ainge in the style of play we're going to continue to play small ball even though we have five legitimate big man on the roster now.

 This will be a telling season for Brad Stevens if he continues to not adapt and play the hand he was dealt instead of trying to fit everybody into his small-ball system and make can't I shoot threes never play Bob Williams, Rarely play Poirier.

 Brad Stevens is officially on the hot seat IMO.

Aren't you the guy that wanted the Celtics to draft draft Deyonta Davis?

[Hoopvortex]

Brad Stevens is officially on the hot seat IMO.

First of all, yet another provocative thread from you. Kudos, and I'm giving you a sort of "lifetime achievement" TP for it. Keep it up!

Team executive on Stevens’ future in Boston: “Until he tells us otherwise, we plan to have him coaching the Celtics. Last year wasn’t on Brad, even if he’ll tell you it was all on him. It was on all of us. And somehow we still almost won 50 games and won a playoff series. If anything, he coached us to that level.”

Looks as though he might be on your hot seat, but not the Celtics'.

With such conviction he wanted to eliminate the power forward position ball handlers wings swings and Biggs everybody was talking about that all the time around here like it was some sort of basketball gospel.

He has not been alone in that, and didn't come up with the idea on his own. It would be interesting to know how you understand "the power forward position" and how you think that that role could work in today's game.

The Celtics have consistently been one of the top defensive teams during Brad's tenure - are you suggesting that having a true power forward would improve the offense? I could imagine offensive rebounding, for example, being an area that a second big could impact.

 

In the end I think the guy was 100% wrong with that weird concept he's also seems to be at odds with Danny Ainge in the style of play we're going to continue to play small ball even though we have five legitimate big man on the roster now.

I think you must be including Tacko Fall? Well, he killed in Summer League, and showed some skills, too - footwork looks like it could become a strength, and he's got good soft hands to catch a pass. But making the roster? Doubtful.

When you say "legitimate" you're talking about the fact that they are big, rather than how good they are, yes? But surely how good a player is, is more important even than the role he plays? Having said that, it's also true that you need guys to play certain roles, no matter how good they are.

This will be a telling season for Brad Stevens if he continues to not adapt and play the hand he was dealt instead of trying to fit everybody into his small-ball system and make can't I shoot threes never play Bob Williams, Rarely play Poirier.

Regarding Robert Williams III - pretty clearly they think that he's got a bright future with the team (I do too, fwiw).  By the same token, they don't think that he's ready for prime time: 

“We knew he was a project when we drafted him, but a worthy one. Sometimes a project gets tossed early, but Robert is a guy we’ll go the distance with. Word of warning: Don’t put too much on this kid too early. We signed a lot of bigs for a reason.”

I'm a glass-half-full guy when it comes to Timelord; I'd bet that he's in the rotation for at least a while this season, and, further, I bet it happens by All-Star Break. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

As for Poirier, I've only ever seen highlights (mostly of him dunking), and have to confess I'm agnostic about how well he can play NBA basketball.  His size may well be crucial in certain situations this season, with Baynes now dearly departed, and despite his rookie status. I'd expect that for the most part he's behind Theis, who will surely be in the rotation.

One thing that Stevens has shown himself a master at, I believe, is load management; and one way that he's used a steady diet of low minutes for rotation players has been to lengthen the rotation and create more opportunities for spot minutes for non-rotation players. That will be a crucial practice this season, I believe, because of the number of rookies.  Grant Williams and Carsen Edwards, as well as TL and, I suppose, Poirier, deserve and will be getting developmental minutes (Edwards has a shot at rotation minutes, btw, because there's no one in front of him except Kemba).

I left out Romeo, but he's down the depth chart at wing, in addition to his post-surgical and shot mechanics rebuild issues. You might miss him if you go to the refrigerator.

[KG Living Legend]

Well, you can think or fabricate any sort of drama you want. Doesn't mean it has any credence to reality. No, Brad and Ainge are not at odds and no, Brad isn't on the hot seat. Plus if you think we have 5 legitimate big men on this team, we have very different definitions of "legitimate big men".

well stated, so a tp for the post. CBS is not alone in seeing how the nba game is evolving over what it was not that long ago. the post above would seem to celebrate and support not learning and not adapting as a coaching philosophy.

also KGLL, please provide some links, evidence, support for you post. without those, your post doesn't really rise above the level of conjecture and a simple opinion.

 have you heard anybody else around the circles of the NBA talk so much about bigs, swings, ball-handlers, and wing's?

 No you have not that was created by Brad Stevens and reinforced by Brad Stevens it makes zero sense to this day and people around here wasted so much time talking about who's wing, who's a big all this nonsense.

 the fact remains it's still the same game it has been all along a center a power forward a small forward a shooting guard and a point guard please don't reinvent that to me you just sound stupid.