IMHO it's not effort that holds this team back.
All game long, I watch guys overcommit on help, help when they shouldn't, lose guys off ball, miss rotations, miss extra passes, force contested shots, and miss assignments on the glass. Effort is an element to some of these things for sure, but overall I think the biggest problem is that we just don't know how to play together. We don't trust each other at all. We aren't on the same page together at all.
I've been in Stevens' corner but admittedly I'm wavering. I'm not used to seeing this out of his teams. In the past, his teams have been characterized by disciplined defense that often outweighed the sum of its parts and an egalitarian offense with a lot of shared responsibility. This year I don't see any of that. I do not think he is a bad coach. I think he has his flaws, but is a good coach overall. But I'm opening to the idea that this group of players just isn't listening to him. And if that's the case, maybe it's time that we find a new voice.
For the record, that may not solve anything. It may very well be an issue with this group of players, rather than this coach. But the grass on the other side of that fence is starting to look pretty [dang]ed green to me, compared with where we're sitting now.
The C's were 48-24 in the regular season last year, then started 6-0 in the playoffs, and were on the brink of being 7-0 when that meltdown happened with half a second left against Toronto.
IMO they have been a bad team ever since then. Not trusting each other, playing tight. Choking games away, blowing leads, making terrible decisions late. They were mentally weak against the Heat, and are mentally weak now.
They look tight, and almost passive-aggressive, full of negative energy on the court. Notice how there is a delay on their passes to teammates. It's almost as if they don't really want to pass, and the ball always gets there a split-second late, just late enough for the defense to adjust. It is amazing to watch.
They self-sabotage.
IMO that speaks to leadership issues. And what is the pecking order, exactly? Smart jacks up bad shots at will late, and Tatum and Brown don't say a word. This is a problem. The kids are better than the "leader" of the team. Notice that Brown (and the whole team) plays more aggressively and decisively when Tatum is out. He knows he is the true alpha and attacks relentlessly. But things get murkier when both he and Tatum are together. And then Smart is also doing his thing.
It's a strange situation. But it's one the coach should have a handle on. Morale, setting defined roles, those are the coach's responsibilities.
Things have spiraled. Misfortune has crushed this team's spirit, and the young guys don't know how to bounce back. Brad Stevens is too close to this situation and maybe isn't seeing the forest through the trees.
Might be time for a new voice.
Topic: Celtics (21-22) at Bucks (28-14) Game #44 3/24/21 (Read 44676 times)