Is Brad Stevens the problem?

[Spicoli]

You know what really stinks? We have two lotto picks that can't or won't be played. Romeo has been hurt off and on since drafted and Nesmith is apparently unplayable. That's a really big problem. Bane is averaging 10 points a game and 48% from 3 and we picked him. If Danny had Kept Bane he be worth more than we traded him for now.

If we drafted Bane instead of Nesmith, Stevens wouldn't play him either. He would be rotting on the bench as well. Stevens doesn't care about offense at all. He only cares about guys who play it safe on defense.

[BringToughnessBack]

Oh, there is a problem but Stevens is not it.

[gouki88]

Stevens is probably a top 5-8 coach in the league. He’s very similar, to me, to Del Harris. Had those Lakers teams making some noise, but then he couldn’t get them anywhere serious. Phil Jackson got them a 3-peat.

Maybe we need to poach Pop

[GreenWarrior]

Brad Stevens has to be fired. Some coaches i dislike and others i hate. Stevens is a coach i hate. Robert Williams is the best big on your team and he is barely getting 10 minutes of playing time a night. How can he justify this? He is going to seek a trade or sign with another ball club when the time comes because Stevens won't give him a chance. Ojeleye, Grant Williams, Jeff Teague, and Javonte Green are all duds offensively yet they get playing time over guys who are more offensively oriented. This is dumb seeing as though this team is bad on defense even while giving these "defensive players" minutes. I can't take Brad anymore. He has to go. I'm beyond sick of him at this point.

I'm not a huge stevens fan at all, but the scouting report on williams was his "motor" or lack there of. That and the radio guys said his stamina has been an issue since his bout with covid.

So I'm thinking williams  limited mins. has more to do with him than stevens.

I'm not seeing a lack of motor on R. Williams at all. When he's out there he's all over the place disrupting things all over the court. He gets steals, blocks, put backs, can pass, and can even hit the jumper now. He has it all. Stevens would rather play Grant Williams and Tristan Thompson center minutes instead.

This team has really talented guys on the roster who just aren't getting the opportunities. Theis and R. Williams looked really good together but of course he nixed that and went back to Theis and Thompson smh.

I am going to be sick when R. Williams blows up on another team.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but maybe it's a stamina thing with williams.

But, I wouldn't be surprised if it's stevens. There's been plenty of players we've passed on acquiring because they don't fit stevens' system.

Plus he's even admitted he doesn't know how to use bigs.

[Atzar]

IMO we don't have a "problem", per se. 

We aren't contenders this year.  We had a three-year window that just closed on us with Hayward's departure.  Now we're killing time while Tatum and Brown improve and learn how to lead, at which point the window will open again.  I think that will probably take another year or two.  In the meantime, our roster is similarly constructed - a future-facing collection of players who could develop into useful pieces but aren't reliable yet.  They'll either become dependable players or they'll be traded/dumped for other options.   

As for Brad, he's not a perfect coach but IMO he's not holding this group back.  He has his strengths; he has his weaknesses; overall, he's fine.  I just don't think this group is ready to take control of the conference no matter who the coach is. 

[Spicoli]

Brad Stevens has to be fired. Some coaches i dislike and others i hate. Stevens is a coach i hate. Robert Williams is the best big on your team and he is barely getting 10 minutes of playing time a night. How can he justify this? He is going to seek a trade or sign with another ball club when the time comes because Stevens won't give him a chance. Ojeleye, Grant Williams, Jeff Teague, and Javonte Green are all duds offensively yet they get playing time over guys who are more offensively oriented. This is dumb seeing as though this team is bad on defense even while giving these "defensive players" minutes. I can't take Brad anymore. He has to go. I'm beyond sick of him at this point.

I'm not a huge stevens fan at all, but the scouting report on williams was his "motor" or lack there of. That and the radio guys said his stamina has been an issue since his bout with covid.

So I'm thinking williams  limited mins. has more to do with him than stevens.

I'm not seeing a lack of motor on R. Williams at all. When he's out there he's all over the place disrupting things all over the court. He gets steals, blocks, put backs, can pass, and can even hit the jumper now. He has it all. Stevens would rather play Grant Williams and Tristan Thompson center minutes instead.

This team has really talented guys on the roster who just aren't getting the opportunities. Theis and R. Williams looked really good together but of course he nixed that and went back to Theis and Thompson smh.

I am going to be sick when R. Williams blows up on another team.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but maybe it's a stamina thing with williams.

But, I wouldn't be surprised if it's stevens. There's been plenty of players we've passed on acquiring because they don't fit stevens' system.

Plus he's even admitted he doesn't know how to use bigs.

I'm interested to see what R. Williams career high in minutes is. I have a feeling he's never played more than 30 minutes in a single game in his NBA career. I wonder if he ever had a conditioning problem in college? I would be shocked if this was a conditioning issue holding him back.

[Spicoli]

IMO we don't have a "problem", per se. 

We aren't contenders this year.  We had a three-year window that just closed on us with Hayward's departure.  Now we're killing time while Tatum and Brown improve and learn how to lead, at which point the window will open again.  I think that will probably take another year or two.  In the meantime, our roster is similarly constructed - a future-facing collection of players who could develop into useful pieces but aren't reliable yet.  They'll either become dependable players or they'll be traded/dumped for other options.   

As for Brad, he's not a perfect coach but IMO he's not holding this group back.  He has his strengths; he has his weaknesses; overall, he's fine.  I just don't think this group is ready to take control of the conference no matter who the coach is.

What's your opinion on what his strengths are in particular?

[Androslav]

I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of brad stevens, and quite frankly still am. However I am starting to wonder if at least in part he has a role in not being able to get over the hump in some of these games/seasons.
Still unacceptable not to make the finals last year with no giannis In the picture and no nets, never mind fans or travel...if they couldn’t do it last year I just don’t see it happening with this core/coach

In the Miami series, we basically had 4 healthy non-rookie players (Tatum, Theis, Brown and Smart).
Hay was out and came back unready, Kemba also had his knee issues.
We won 2, but it is hard to win 3 PO series with basically 4 players.

I actually can't recall any team in league history that made the finals with just 4 good guys.

Clearly I don't think it was BS fault to lose to Miami, I find it as the success, of his adaptability and consistency.

[liam]

You know what really stinks? We have two lotto picks that can't or won't be played. Romeo has been hurt off and on since drafted and Nesmith is apparently unplayable. That's a really big problem. Bane is averaging 10 points a game and 48% from 3 and we picked him. If Danny had Kept Bane he be worth more than we traded him for now.

If we drafted Bane instead of Nesmith, Stevens wouldn't play him either. He would be rotting on the bench as well. Stevens doesn't care about offense at all. He only cares about guys who play it safe on defense.

With all our injuries Bane would've played at some point but I guess you could be right.

[Rikibellevie]

I don't like some late choices, but men CBS isn't at all a problem. He tryes to find rotations and playable, NBA ready guys on our youth... It is still gropping time.
And for the Nesmith case Brad isn't blocking the development of youth, so if Nesmith don't play there must be a problem (which may be only temporary). Noone would have taken Bane so high and Nesmith seemed a good opportunity at 15. He is just a 2 month NBA player...

So OK if next year one of Spoelstra, Nurse or Kerr is available and we are out in 2d round PO, then I may be in camp of fire Brad ! But for now with this uncomplete, young and inconstent team, destoyed by covid and injurys, he is still 4th in the conference, a half win behid the terribles Nets... So what to say about their coach and their team ? And guys what do you wait ? Finding the guilty ones ? It is not a big probability (but still a small one); if we win the title this year, I will have fun thinking all the negativity about C's fans on this forum during ll year.

[SHAQATTACK]

not if we had a young Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

mostly about luck

[BMark]

I don't like some late choices, but men CBS isn't at all a problem. He tryes to find rotations and playable, NBA ready guys on our youth... It is still gropping time.
And for the Nesmith case Brad isn't blocking the development of youth, so if Nesmith don't play there must be a problem (which may be only temporary). Noone would have taken Bane so high and Nesmith seemed a good opportunity at 15. He is just a 2 month NBA player...

So OK if next year one of Spoelstra, Nurse or Kerr is available and we are out in 2d round PO, then I may be in camp of fire Brad ! But for now with this uncomplete, young and inconstent team, destoyed by covid and injurys, he is still 4th in the conference, a half win behid the terribles Nets... So what to say about their coach and their team ? And guys what do you wait ? Finding the guilty ones ? It is not a big probability (but still a small one); if we win the title this year, I will have fun thinking all the negativity about C's fans on this forum during ll year.

All this having been said, I still do not understand the thought process of starting Kemba and Edwards on Sunday, and expecting one of them to cover Booker effectively.  It reminds me if when Jimy Williams used to bat guys like Andy Sheets cleanup...

[GetLucky]

The ridiculous Brad Stevens slander (not criticism, slander) is the primary reason I don't post on this site very often anymore. I guess Brad's been calling timeouts quickly enough & the Celtics have won too many 3rd quarters by too much lately, so the criticism has gone from "poor adjustments" to "he's starting the worst players so he is an underdog going into the game."

I can't wait to see what the next conspiracy theory is.

Note: This is not just a "this blog" problem. I see tons of posts on Reddit & other forums stating that Rick Carlisle is "a washed up coach who's been coasting since 2011 and can't coach in the modern NBA," completely ignoring the fact that the Mavericks had literally the best offense of all time on a per 100 possessions basis last year. It is fair to criticize Stevens in a vacuum, but accusing him of being anything but an elite coach, let alone "the problem," is really quite silly. The Celtics are clearly improving on defense as the season goes on, and the offense is in typical "build a base and try out rotations," first third of the season mode, as is typical for Stevens teams. Additionally, the C's have had a fully healthy roster for 1 1/2 games this season.

[smokeablount]

IMO we don't have a "problem", per se. 

We aren't contenders this year.  We had a three-year window that just closed on us with Hayward's departure.  Now we're killing time while Tatum and Brown improve and learn how to lead, at which point the window will open again.  I think that will probably take another year or two.  In the meantime, our roster is similarly constructed - a future-facing collection of players who could develop into useful pieces but aren't reliable yet.  They'll either become dependable players or they'll be traded/dumped for other options.   

As for Brad, he's not a perfect coach but IMO he's not holding this group back.  He has his strengths; he has his weaknesses; overall, he's fine.  I just don't think this group is ready to take control of the conference no matter who the coach is.

If we’re not contenders then not playing Robert and Peyton more minutes so we can play limited vets instead seems hard to defend.

[tstorey_97]

Not sure how Stevens can be the problem. His win stats are as good as anyone else's. He is the team leader of a young team, more like a college coach I guess.

If you take out his first year which was a tank 25W and 57L
Ainge wanted the draft pick that year...it was Steven's "job" to lose those games. Ainge traded the Celtics' best performing player...Jordan Crawford in January because he was playing too well. December 9th he was ECF player of the week 23.3 PPG...Ainge traded him 19 days later.

His lifetime would be 305 Wins and 199 losses which is .601 pct

What the heck is the matter with that?

Did I miss something or did he have a contender in there somewhere? You know, I mean a team whose starting center wasn't Daniel Theis or Aaron Baynes.

I don't think anyone needs to make excuses for Stevens, he hasn't had a chance to "blow" a championship opportunity yet.

Irving played in 9 playoff games for Stevens and shot 38% from the field with 31% from three and was 21 ppg. Was that Steven's fault?

How about Hayward, he played in 14 playoff games in two years and averaged 10 ppg. Must have been Brad's "bad coaching."

Ainge wasn't able to get Stevens a title team and now we're stuck with two of the top young wings in the league....this is a problem?