This team need a real coach....

[pearljammer10]

This team needs to play defense.

[kozlodoev]

Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

I guess hoping for simple things such as drawing some actual plays, making adjustments, and playing to your roster's strengths is absurd.

I know this team doesn't have much, but the steadfast refusal to make the best of what they have is getting really old really quick.

[SHAQATTACK]

This isn't a team yet.  It's still going though massive evolution ....one day will be a solid core .

Until a big Center is obtained and an elite scorer , it is what it is.

Stevens is doing what he can to be competitive , until better players come and bad ones go.


Celtics are still 10 or so players from that roster that will led the team back to the front.

[MBunge]

Stevens' breakdown of the loss yesterday: "They ran some good stuff and made some shots". Gee, thanks, coach. I sure hope you've got something more substantial to say in the locker room.

What else do you want to say?

I believe this is the 2nd time  in just 7 games the team has had a double digit lead and then lost after doing it over and over last season, and that's the sort of thing having a healthy Rondo was supposed to fix.

This is pretty clearly getting to be a coaching issue on both offense and defense.

Mike

[Mr October]

Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

I guess hoping for simple things such as drawing some actual plays, making adjustments, and playing to your roster's strengths is absurd.

I know this team doesn't have much, but the steadfast refusal to make the best of what they have is getting really old really quick.

What should the Celtics be doing differently to play to their strengths?

Based on their flawed roster, i think they are doing pretty well.

[Donoghus]

Stevens' breakdown of the loss yesterday: "They ran some good stuff and made some shots". Gee, thanks, coach. I sure hope you've got something more substantial to say in the locker room.

What else do you want to say?

I believe this is the 2nd time  in just 7 games the team has had a double digit lead and then lost after doing it over and over last season, and that's the sort of thing having a healthy Rondo was supposed to fix.

This is pretty clearly getting to be a coaching issue on both offense and defense.

Mike

It's not necessarily something that a healthy Rondo could fix, it's something someone like Paul Pierce would go a long way fixing.  Someone whose ball you can put in their hands when the shot clock is winding down and you need someone to create their own shot.  Someone who can operate as a triple threat in the half court when the game slows down in the 4th quarter.

[MBunge]

Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

I guess hoping for simple things such as drawing some actual plays, making adjustments, and playing to your roster's strengths is absurd.

I know this team doesn't have much, but the steadfast refusal to make the best of what they have is getting really old really quick.

What should the Celtics be doing differently to play to their strengths?

Based on their flawed roster, i think they are doing pretty well.

Kendrick Perkins and Stephen Adams played a combined 48 minutes, yet even though KO had some foul trouble and a +/- of -13, Tyler Zeller played 15 whole minutes.  Last night was an absolutely perfect time to give Zeller more run.

Mike

[MBunge]

Stevens' breakdown of the loss yesterday: "They ran some good stuff and made some shots". Gee, thanks, coach. I sure hope you've got something more substantial to say in the locker room.

What else do you want to say?

I believe this is the 2nd time  in just 7 games the team has had a double digit lead and then lost after doing it over and over last season, and that's the sort of thing having a healthy Rondo was supposed to fix.

This is pretty clearly getting to be a coaching issue on both offense and defense.

Mike

It's not necessarily something that a healthy Rondo could fix, it's something someone like Paul Pierce would go a long way fixing.  Someone whose ball you can put in their hands when the shot clock is winding down and you need someone to create their own shot.  Someone who can operate as a triple threat in the half court when the game slows down in the 4th quarter.

It's not that Rondo would score.  It's that he would run the offense better and prevent the team from, you know, jacking up threes early in the shot clock when they aren't hitting anything.

Mike

[Granath]

Brad Stevens is a phenomenal coach.  He's struck gold with the performance as a team in reference with the group of players hes got.  If Rajon Rondo stays in boston Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge are the two biggest reasons why.  Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

This.

I said before the season that this team would have defensive problems. We will see good individual defensive effort, but overall the team defense would be poor. So far, that's spot on. Good defensive teams take time to develop and NBA defense is a learned skill. It's a veteran skill. This team doesn't have veterans or the type of long-term cohesion it takes to play defense effectively. It takes time.

As for Rajon, if he stays it's due to Danny and Brad. I'm firmly convinced that if Doc were still the coach, Rondo would already have one foot out the door. Not because Doc was a bad coach or that he couldn't coach Rondo, but Brad seems to really have Rondo's ear and vice versa.

Stevens has been a very good coach thus far. Even while the losses are piling up this team continues to play hard pretty much every night. They haven't quit on him and the youngsters continue to improve. Not much more you can ask given this roster and the bad lottery luck thus far.

[kozlodoev]

Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

I guess hoping for simple things such as drawing some actual plays, making adjustments, and playing to your roster's strengths is absurd.

I know this team doesn't have much, but the steadfast refusal to make the best of what they have is getting really old really quick.

What should the Celtics be doing differently to play to their strengths?

Based on their flawed roster, i think they are doing pretty well.

For a team that is supposed to have an all-star PG and no go-to scorer, the Celtics are doing a remarkably pathetic job in identifying mismatches and exploiting them. The offense, as far as I have seen, is a barrage of pick and rolls and unapologetic long jumpers with plenty of time left on the clock.

I have seen absolutely no indication that the game plan ever tries to get our better offensive players to take the shots that they can convert with some reliability (just off the top of my head, these include corner threes and backdoor cuts, for Bradley, one-dribble drives for Green, and maybe pick-and-pops for Olynyk). It has all looked like a high-school pick-up game too often for my liking.

[D.o.s.]

Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

I guess hoping for simple things such as drawing some actual plays, making adjustments, and playing to your roster's strengths is absurd.

I know this team doesn't have much, but the steadfast refusal to make the best of what they have is getting really old really quick.

What should the Celtics be doing differently to play to their strengths?

Based on their flawed roster, i think they are doing pretty well.

Kendrick Perkins and Stephen Adams played a combined 48 minutes, yet even though KO had some foul trouble and a +/- of -13, Tyler Zeller played 15 whole minutes.  Last night was an absolutely perfect time to give Zeller more run.

Mike

In that you'd like to see what Zeller is capable of, or as a way for the Celtics to try to win the game?

[fairweatherfan]

I'm surprised we haven't run a single pick-and-pop for Zeller or set him up for any kind of jumper.  His one and only high-level skill last year was shooting mid-range jumpers at an elite rate for a big (52% from 10-16, 47% from 16 to the 3). 

Sample sizes were pretty small, so he might not keep those rates up, but he hasn't taken a single shot from outside of 10 feet so far this year.  It's head-scratching.

[Mr October]

Im in disbelief that a celtics fan would actually write that Brad Stevens "isn't a real coach".  Thats absurd.

I guess hoping for simple things such as drawing some actual plays, making adjustments, and playing to your roster's strengths is absurd.

I know this team doesn't have much, but the steadfast refusal to make the best of what they have is getting really old really quick.

What should the Celtics be doing differently to play to their strengths?

Based on their flawed roster, i think they are doing pretty well.

For a team that is supposed to have an all-star PG and no go-to scorer, the Celtics are doing a remarkably pathetic job in identifying mismatches and exploiting them. The offense, as far as I have seen, is a barrage of pick and rolls and unapologetic long jumpers with plenty of time left on the clock.

I have seen absolutely no indication that the game plan ever tries to get our better offensive players to take the shots that they can convert with some reliability (just off the top of my head, these include corner threes and backdoor cuts, for Bradley, one-dribble drives for Green, and maybe pick-and-pops for Olynyk). It has all looked like a high-school pick-up game too often for my liking.

TP for the response. I think the offense looks fine for what we have. KO is shooting a great percentage. Jeff green is playing a at a higher level this year. Rondo often has the defense on skates.

But i agree in that there is not enough cutting, and movement. It'll be interesting to watch the playbook evolve this season.

[Donoghus]

Stevens' breakdown of the loss yesterday: "They ran some good stuff and made some shots". Gee, thanks, coach. I sure hope you've got something more substantial to say in the locker room.

What else do you want to say?

I believe this is the 2nd time  in just 7 games the team has had a double digit lead and then lost after doing it over and over last season, and that's the sort of thing having a healthy Rondo was supposed to fix.

This is pretty clearly getting to be a coaching issue on both offense and defense.

Mike

It's not necessarily something that a healthy Rondo could fix, it's something someone like Paul Pierce would go a long way fixing.  Someone whose ball you can put in their hands when the shot clock is winding down and you need someone to create their own shot.  Someone who can operate as a triple threat in the half court when the game slows down in the 4th quarter.

It's not that Rondo would score.  It's that he would run the offense better and prevent the team from, you know, jacking up threes early in the shot clock when they aren't hitting anything.

Mike

That certainly doesn't help, either.  That's part poor coaching and just poor decision making from the player.  Need to know your situation.  If Rondo needs to get in their ears about it, let them have it. 

[hwangjini_1]

Stevens' breakdown of the loss yesterday: "They ran some good stuff and made some shots". Gee, thanks, coach. I sure hope you've got something more substantial to say in the locker room.

What else do you want to say?

I believe this is the 2nd time  in just 7 games the team has had a double digit lead and then lost after doing it over and over last season, and that's the sort of thing having a healthy Rondo was supposed to fix.

This is pretty clearly getting to be a coaching issue on both offense and defense.

Mike

yet, versus chicago the celtics won the exact type of game they lost last year. to me, that game was a step forward and partly due to stevens.

i think stevens is similar to his players, learning as he goes. losing leads is hard, but understandable if the talent is not there. instead of looking at just losses and wins (though yes, those are important) i am trying to see what sorts of offensive plays and defenses stevens runs. it is trial and error on everyone's part it seems. plus i expect stevens sets to work better in some situations and against some teams than others.

against the zone, he started running bradley to the foul line off of picks and bradley hit some shots and not others, so while the results were mixed, the basic play was a good idea since a credible jump shooter got open shots.

as far as morrow and johnson, they were simply playing well AND the perimeter defense had zero rim defense behind them.

i don't see stevens' coaching as being terrible or even bad right now. he is learning as are the celtics players. why we should be urged by some posters to react so strongly and quickly to this is beyond me, but that happens a lot here.