Post Game: Crowder says Stevens needs to hold players more accountable

[guava_wrench]

We have too many confidence guys who need everything to go rosy for things to go well.   One day Zeller is in a slump, the next it is Sully, next Oynyk.   I get these guys are not that good but do they really have the mindset to be pros if they are that fragile.

Sully has the gall to discuss toughness and Hero ball when he is lacking in these regards and played hero ball.

There is too much talk on this team.   I think Stevens was a great coach prior to coming here but with this much talk I have to wonder if the players respect him anymore.   I do not think anyone could win with this team though.   It is flawed beyond belief.  Guys who think otherwise have no seen enough moons.

I think you are projecting on to the players. Mindset isn't the problem. Ability is. Guys are erratic when they aren't that good because they aren't that good. If they have a good matchup, the team goes to them. If not, they are useless. There is also the fact that no one hits every jumpshot. So the randomness means that players who take only 8-10 shots a game (consider a FTA about half a shot) will have a more noticeable variance in their success than someone who shoots 16-20 shots per game and performs closer to their mean due to the larger sample (and who are good enough to have a degree of success against even suboptimal matchups).

[jambr380]

Well this it too bad. The team doesn't have the talent to compete.  Ainge hired Stevens with the expectation that this team will be terrible for 3-5 years... Hence the 6 year deal.  Stevens job is to develop players for the future. He isn't here to win right now.  Problem is, it's really hard for a coach to keep the Locker room healthy when they are losing consistently.

What needs to happen is for us to eliminate the veterans from the roster. These guys will not respect brad.  Ainge is trying to dump them as quickly as possible but it can't happen soon enough.  The kids like young, Oly and smart should be fine here.  They are still trying to make a name for themselves so they can get paid. Winning doesn't really matter to them. 

I understand that because these comments are coming from an unproven player like crowder it kind of goes against what I'm saying, but it seems to me that the sooner we get rid of guys like bass, green, Wallace and jameer, the sooner the kids can lose in peace and everyone will just be happy to get NBA minutes.

the team was built poorly before Rondo left and it's only gotten worse. I think it's kind of by design by Ainge. just a collection of players, most of which whose talents would be better suited getting some mins. on a playoff team...and then a bunch of young guys running around like the chicken with no head.

and while I don't think Stevens is tanking I actually believe he's trying to win. but I think Stevens is in on danny's plan to tank.

if they don't get what it is they're holding out for in return for green/bass and end up settling for a rondo deal. we can look at this as another mistake.

I certainly hope you're right about Stevens being more in on Danny's plan than trying to win above all else. Otherwise--yikes!

Danny's plan is pretty transparent.  We've seen it before.  Collect assets, buy low and sell high, try to target stars.   The second we traded KG and Pierce, everything else that has happened was predictable....  Doc leaving, collecting draft picks, finding Ricky Davis-esque reclamation projects (Evan Turner), showcasing vets and developing youth, dumping vets for expiring contracts, putting the team in position to fail so we can get high picks, etc.    We obviously were going to try hard to land a star... which we tried this summer with Kevin Love, but didn't have enough assets to get it done yet.  Remember it took Danny about 4 years to collect enough assets to land the 32 year old KG.  We'll get there eventually.

The plan is a loose set of guidelines:  Collect youth, picks, and expiring contracts.  PUt team in position to land superstar prospects in the draft.   

Everyone should have known what was going on.   Doc Rivers clearly knew what was going on... that's why he didn't want to stick around.  I never blamed Doc for that.  It was blatantly clear to anyone paying attention that we were on the verge of a lengthy rebuild and all the garbage that goes along with it.    There's no way Ainge hired the college kid as his coach without communicating to him what a torturous 3-5 years it was going to be.  Doc went through it in the early years of his Celtic run... and now Brad is going through it.  There's a reason why Ainge gave Brad a guaranteed 6 year deal.  It was an admission, "Look, we aren't judging you on wins and losses here... there's a lot of motives you'll need to balance, but the potential reward could be high if we do our job.  Doc went through this.  People misinterpreted what he was doing.  They complained about his rotations.  They wanted him fired.  Doc and I had an understanding.  Eventually, Doc coached a champion.  People will remember him as a great coach, not a company man who balanced our festering assets.  Eventually, they will see you as a great coach too... just gotta get through the nasty bit."

There is literally no way Brad isn't aware of what's going on here.  He was hired because of his demeanor.  He's a nice intelligent guy.  He doesn't lash out at the players or anything.  He's patient.  We need a patient coach for this process.  You can't hire someone like Stan Van Gundy... it would be a disaster.  So we plucked a young College coach who can be here for the long haul.  You really can't judge anything Brad is doing.  It's all for the greater good.   

As soon as the vets are shipped out, we'll all be able to lose in peace.

TP. This post pretty much says it all and it should be on the front page for everybody to see. Being in Stevens' shoes has to be a little uncomfortable, but he knew what he was getting into. He also knows that everything could change in the blink of an eye. While our team is built up of many parts that don't fit together, we still have some pretty good parts that other teams may want. And even if they don't, at least we have a bunch of draft picks to try and find our next star(s).

[Tr1boy]

After Green , bass, nelson are traded it will get easier for cbs

I dont mind keeping wallace. Good vet presence to have around

[MBunge]

A player should not be saying that about a coach.

Agreed.  Know your place, and keep it in the locker room.

I have no problem with this. I think it's great that someone is stepping up. And his play backs up his words.

His play -- fewer than 7 points per game on 44% shooting, and a 1-7 record -- allows him to undermine his coach to the media?

When your coach undermines himself with bad, almost pathetic, coaching, I don't think players are required to lie to anyone about what is going on.  If Crowder goes from Rick Carisle to Stevens and notices something wrong, why not mention the Emperor's New Clothes?

Mike

Correction: If Crowder goes from Dirk Nowitski, Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons, and Monta Ellis to Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, and Evan Turner and notices something wrong, why not mention the Emperor's New Clothes?

He did, saying it was on the players first and foremost to compete harder.  Which is 100% true but doesn't let Stevens off the hook.

If in a few games we have a worse record playing in the East than the Lakers do playing in the West, will that be due to talent?

Mike

[MBunge]

Well this it too bad. The team doesn't have the talent to compete.  Ainge hired Stevens with the expectation that this team will be terrible for 3-5 years... Hence the 6 year deal.  Stevens job is to develop players for the future. He isn't here to win right now.  Problem is, it's really hard for a coach to keep the Locker room healthy when they are losing consistently.

What needs to happen is for us to eliminate the veterans from the roster. These guys will not respect brad.  Ainge is trying to dump them as quickly as possible but it can't happen soon enough.  The kids like young, Oly and smart should be fine here.  They are still trying to make a name for themselves so they can get paid. Winning doesn't really matter to them. 

I understand that because these comments are coming from an unproven player like crowder it kind of goes against what I'm saying, but it seems to me that the sooner we get rid of guys like bass, green, Wallace and jameer, the sooner the kids can lose in peace and everyone will just be happy to get NBA minutes.

the team was built poorly before Rondo left and it's only gotten worse. I think it's kind of by design by Ainge. just a collection of players, most of which whose talents would be better suited getting some mins. on a playoff team...and then a bunch of young guys running around like the chicken with no head.

and while I don't think Stevens is tanking I actually believe he's trying to win. but I think Stevens is in on danny's plan to tank.

if they don't get what it is they're holding out for in return for green/bass and end up settling for a rondo deal. we can look at this as another mistake.

I certainly hope you're right about Stevens being more in on Danny's plan than trying to win above all else. Otherwise--yikes!

Danny's plan is pretty transparent.  We've seen it before.  Collect assets, buy low and sell high, try to target stars.   The second we traded KG and Pierce, everything else that has happened was predictable....  Doc leaving, collecting draft picks, finding Ricky Davis-esque reclamation projects (Evan Turner), showcasing vets and developing youth, dumping vets for expiring contracts, putting the team in position to fail so we can get high picks, etc.    We obviously were going to try hard to land a star... which we tried this summer with Kevin Love, but didn't have enough assets to get it done yet.  Remember it took Danny about 4 years to collect enough assets to land the 32 year old KG.  We'll get there eventually.

The plan is a loose set of guidelines:  Collect youth, picks, and expiring contracts.  PUt team in position to land superstar prospects in the draft.   

Everyone should have known what was going on.   Doc Rivers clearly knew what was going on... that's why he didn't want to stick around.  I never blamed Doc for that.  It was blatantly clear to anyone paying attention that we were on the verge of a lengthy rebuild and all the garbage that goes along with it.    There's no way Ainge hired the college kid as his coach without communicating to him what a torturous 3-5 years it was going to be.  Doc went through it in the early years of his Celtic run... and now Brad is going through it.  There's a reason why Ainge gave Brad a guaranteed 6 year deal.  It was an admission, "Look, we aren't judging you on wins and losses here... there's a lot of motives you'll need to balance, but the potential reward could be high if we do our job.  Doc went through this.  People misinterpreted what he was doing.  They complained about his rotations.  They wanted him fired.  Doc and I had an understanding.  Eventually, Doc coached a champion.  People will remember him as a great coach, not a company man who balanced our festering assets.  Eventually, they will see you as a great coach too... just gotta get through the nasty bit."

There is literally no way Brad isn't aware of what's going on here.  He was hired because of his demeanor.  He's a nice intelligent guy.  He doesn't lash out at the players or anything.  He's patient.  We need a patient coach for this process.  You can't hire someone like Stan Van Gundy... it would be a disaster.  So we plucked a young College coach who can be here for the long haul.  You really can't judge anything Brad is doing.  It's all for the greater good.   

As soon as the vets are shipped out, we'll all be able to lose in peace.

The problem with that argument is that if Stevens can't get these players to play hard and play smart, why should we think he's going to do it with any players?

Another problem is that if nothing happening in this season matters, why are you wasting money on Stevens and racking up maybe 100 to 150 losses on his record over his first three years?  Why not pay some longtime NBA assistant half as much to man the fort until you're ready to compete and get a big time coach?

There have been plenty of examples of losing teams that still played like they were well coached.  Does ANYONE think this team looks like it's well coached?

Mike

[Neurotic Guy]

A player should not be saying that about a coach.

Agreed.  Know your place, and keep it in the locker room.

I have no problem with this. I think it's great that someone is stepping up. And his play backs up his words.

His play -- fewer than 7 points per game on 44% shooting, and a 1-7 record -- allows him to undermine his coach to the media?

When your coach undermines himself with bad, almost pathetic, coaching, I don't think players are required to lie to anyone about what is going on.  If Crowder goes from Rick Carisle to Stevens and notices something wrong, why not mention the Emperor's New Clothes?

Mike

Correction: If Crowder goes from Dirk Nowitski, Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons, and Monta Ellis to Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, and Evan Turner and notices something wrong, why not mention the Emperor's New Clothes?

He did, saying it was on the players first and foremost to compete harder.  Which is 100% true but doesn't let Stevens off the hook.

If in a few games we have a worse record playing in the East than the Lakers do playing in the West, will that be due to talent?

Mike

Trade Kobe for Jeff Green (or whoever you think is the most talented Celtic) and the C's will be the 7th seed in the East by February 1.  Yes, it is primarily due to talent.

[kozlodoev]

We have too many confidence guys who need everything to go rosy for things to go well.   One day Zeller is in a slump, the next it is Sully, next Oynyk.   I get these guys are not that good but do they really have the mindset to be pros if they are that fragile.

Sully has the gall to discuss toughness and Hero ball when he is lacking in these regards and played hero ball.

There is too much talk on this team.   I think Stevens was a great coach prior to coming here but with this much talk I have to wonder if the players respect him anymore.   I do not think anyone could win with this team though.   It is flawed beyond belief.  Guys who think otherwise have no seen enough moons.

I think you are projecting on to the players. Mindset isn't the problem. Ability is. Guys are erratic when they aren't that good because they aren't that good. If they have a good matchup, the team goes to them. If not, they are useless. There is also the fact that no one hits every jumpshot. So the randomness means that players who take only 8-10 shots a game (consider a FTA about half a shot) will have a more noticeable variance in their success than someone who shoots 16-20 shots per game and performs closer to their mean due to the larger sample (and who are good enough to have a degree of success against even suboptimal matchups).

This would be great if it happened, but it doesn't.

[Surferdad]

Well this it too bad. The team doesn't have the talent to compete.  Ainge hired Stevens with the expectation that this team will be terrible for 3-5 years... Hence the 6 year deal.  Stevens job is to develop players for the future. He isn't here to win right now.  Problem is, it's really hard for a coach to keep the Locker room healthy when they are losing consistently.

What needs to happen is for us to eliminate the veterans from the roster. These guys will not respect brad.  Ainge is trying to dump them as quickly as possible but it can't happen soon enough.  The kids like young, Oly and smart should be fine here.  They are still trying to make a name for themselves so they can get paid. Winning doesn't really matter to them. 

I understand that because these comments are coming from an unproven player like crowder it kind of goes against what I'm saying, but it seems to me that the sooner we get rid of guys like bass, green, Wallace and jameer, the sooner the kids can lose in peace and everyone will just be happy to get NBA minutes.

the team was built poorly before Rondo left and it's only gotten worse. I think it's kind of by design by Ainge. just a collection of players, most of which whose talents would be better suited getting some mins. on a playoff team...and then a bunch of young guys running around like the chicken with no head.

and while I don't think Stevens is tanking I actually believe he's trying to win. but I think Stevens is in on danny's plan to tank.

if they don't get what it is they're holding out for in return for green/bass and end up settling for a rondo deal. we can look at this as another mistake.

I certainly hope you're right about Stevens being more in on Danny's plan than trying to win above all else. Otherwise--yikes!

Danny's plan is pretty transparent.  We've seen it before.  Collect assets, buy low and sell high, try to target stars.   The second we traded KG and Pierce, everything else that has happened was predictable....  Doc leaving, collecting draft picks, finding Ricky Davis-esque reclamation projects (Evan Turner), showcasing vets and developing youth, dumping vets for expiring contracts, putting the team in position to fail so we can get high picks, etc.    We obviously were going to try hard to land a star... which we tried this summer with Kevin Love, but didn't have enough assets to get it done yet.  Remember it took Danny about 4 years to collect enough assets to land the 32 year old KG.  We'll get there eventually.

The plan is a loose set of guidelines:  Collect youth, picks, and expiring contracts.  PUt team in position to land superstar prospects in the draft.   

Everyone should have known what was going on.   Doc Rivers clearly knew what was going on... that's why he didn't want to stick around.  I never blamed Doc for that.  It was blatantly clear to anyone paying attention that we were on the verge of a lengthy rebuild and all the garbage that goes along with it.    There's no way Ainge hired the college kid as his coach without communicating to him what a torturous 3-5 years it was going to be.  Doc went through it in the early years of his Celtic run... and now Brad is going through it.  There's a reason why Ainge gave Brad a guaranteed 6 year deal.  It was an admission, "Look, we aren't judging you on wins and losses here... there's a lot of motives you'll need to balance, but the potential reward could be high if we do our job.  Doc went through this.  People misinterpreted what he was doing.  They complained about his rotations.  They wanted him fired.  Doc and I had an understanding.  Eventually, Doc coached a champion.  People will remember him as a great coach, not a company man who balanced our festering assets.  Eventually, they will see you as a great coach too... just gotta get through the nasty bit."

There is literally no way Brad isn't aware of what's going on here.  He was hired because of his demeanor.  He's a nice intelligent guy.  He doesn't lash out at the players or anything.  He's patient.  We need a patient coach for this process.  You can't hire someone like Stan Van Gundy... it would be a disaster.  So we plucked a young College coach who can be here for the long haul.  You really can't judge anything Brad is doing.  It's all for the greater good.   

As soon as the vets are shipped out, we'll all be able to lose in peace.

The problem with that argument is that if Stevens can't get these players to play hard and play smart, why should we think he's going to do it with any players?

Another problem is that if nothing happening in this season matters, why are you wasting money on Stevens and racking up maybe 100 to 150 losses on his record over his first three years?  Why not pay some longtime NBA assistant half as much to man the fort until you're ready to compete and get a big time coach?

There have been plenty of examples of losing teams that still played like they were well coached.  Does ANYONE think this team looks like it's well coached?

Mike

I agree with the highlighted text above.  The Stevens contract was a head-scratcher from the beginning. Six years for a rookie coach seems like a lot. Now it seems that he has lost the confidence of the players, and the roster is a mess. How can anyone possibly expect him to be successful?

[GreenWarrior]

I think there's a lot of college coaches(BS included) that would like that kind of commitment as well as just plain getting their foot in the door of the NBA if the opportunity presents itself.

I'm willing to bet there's an understanding between danny and BS that his wins and losses are not being judged to a certain extent. and that by the time BS reaches the end of his contract this roster will be completely different.

which is why i'm not trying to fall in love with guys like Smart and Young....though it's getting difficult.

[SHAQATTACK]

Well this it too bad. The team doesn't have the talent to compete.  Ainge hired Stevens with the expectation that this team will be terrible for 3-5 years... Hence the 6 year deal.  Stevens job is to develop players for the future. He isn't here to win right now.  Problem is, it's really hard for a coach to keep the Locker room healthy when they are losing consistently.

What needs to happen is for us to eliminate the veterans from the roster. These guys will not respect brad.  Ainge is trying to dump them as quickly as possible but it can't happen soon enough.  The kids like young, Oly and smart should be fine here.  They are still trying to make a name for themselves so they can get paid. Winning doesn't really matter to them. 

I understand that because these comments are coming from an unproven player like crowder it kind of goes against what I'm saying, but it seems to me that the sooner we get rid of guys like bass, green, Wallace and jameer, the sooner the kids can lose in peace and everyone will just be happy to get NBA minutes.

the team was built poorly before Rondo left and it's only gotten worse. I think it's kind of by design by Ainge. just a collection of players, most of which whose talents would be better suited getting some mins. on a playoff team...and then a bunch of young guys running around like the chicken with no head.

and while I don't think Stevens is tanking I actually believe he's trying to win. but I think Stevens is in on danny's plan to tank.

if they don't get what it is they're holding out for in return for green/bass and end up settling for a rondo deal. we can look at this as another mistake.

I certainly hope you're right about Stevens being more in on Danny's plan than trying to win above all else. Otherwise--yikes!

Danny's plan is pretty transparent.  We've seen it before.  Collect assets, buy low and sell high, try to target stars.   The second we traded KG and Pierce, everything else that has happened was predictable....  Doc leaving, collecting draft picks, finding Ricky Davis-esque reclamation projects (Evan Turner), showcasing vets and developing youth, dumping vets for expiring contracts, putting the team in position to fail so we can get high picks, etc.    We obviously were going to try hard to land a star... which we tried this summer with Kevin Love, but didn't have enough assets to get it done yet.  Remember it took Danny about 4 years to collect enough assets to land the 32 year old KG.  We'll get there eventually.

The plan is a loose set of guidelines:  Collect youth, picks, and expiring contracts.  PUt team in position to land superstar prospects in the draft.   

Everyone should have known what was going on.   Doc Rivers clearly knew what was going on... that's why he didn't want to stick around.  I never blamed Doc for that.  It was blatantly clear to anyone paying attention that we were on the verge of a lengthy rebuild and all the garbage that goes along with it.    There's no way Ainge hired the college kid as his coach without communicating to him what a torturous 3-5 years it was going to be.  Doc went through it in the early years of his Celtic run... and now Brad is going through it.  There's a reason why Ainge gave Brad a guaranteed 6 year deal.  It was an admission, "Look, we aren't judging you on wins and losses here... there's a lot of motives you'll need to balance, but the potential reward could be high if we do our job.  Doc went through this.  People misinterpreted what he was doing.  They complained about his rotations.  They wanted him fired.  Doc and I had an understanding.  Eventually, Doc coached a champion.  People will remember him as a great coach, not a company man who balanced our festering assets.  Eventually, they will see you as a great coach too... just gotta get through the nasty bit."

There is literally no way Brad isn't aware of what's going on here.  He was hired because of his demeanor.  He's a nice intelligent guy.  He doesn't lash out at the players or anything.  He's patient.  We need a patient coach for this process.  You can't hire someone like Stan Van Gundy... it would be a disaster.  So we plucked a young College coach who can be here for the long haul.  You really can't judge anything Brad is doing.  It's all for the greater good.   

As soon as the vets are shipped out, we'll all be able to lose in peace.

The problem with that argument is that if Stevens can't get these players to play hard and play smart, why should we think he's going to do it with any players?

Another problem is that if nothing happening in this season matters, why are you wasting money on Stevens and racking up maybe 100 to 150 losses on his record over his first three years?  Why not pay some longtime NBA assistant half as much to man the fort until you're ready to compete and get a big time coach?

There have been plenty of examples of losing teams that still played like they were well coached.  Does ANYONE think this team looks like it's well coached?

Mike

I agree with the highlighted text above.  The Stevens contract was a head-scratcher from the beginning. Six years for a rookie coach seems like a lot. Now it seems that he has lost the confidence of the players, and the roster is a mess. How can anyone possibly expect him to be successful?

I agree with the above post.   I think Doc s old assistant Lou would have been a better choice.  Maybe he still is .   

I look for Stevens to pack his bags and run.

[hwangjini_1]

Well this it too bad. The team doesn't have the talent to compete.  Ainge hired Stevens with the expectation that this team will be terrible for 3-5 years... Hence the 6 year deal.  Stevens job is to develop players for the future. He isn't here to win right now.  Problem is, it's really hard for a coach to keep the Locker room healthy when they are losing consistently.

What needs to happen is for us to eliminate the veterans from the roster. These guys will not respect brad.  Ainge is trying to dump them as quickly as possible but it can't happen soon enough.  The kids like young, Oly and smart should be fine here.  They are still trying to make a name for themselves so they can get paid. Winning doesn't really matter to them. 

I understand that because these comments are coming from an unproven player like crowder it kind of goes against what I'm saying, but it seems to me that the sooner we get rid of guys like bass, green, Wallace and jameer, the sooner the kids can lose in peace and everyone will just be happy to get NBA minutes.

the team was built poorly before Rondo left and it's only gotten worse. I think it's kind of by design by Ainge. just a collection of players, most of which whose talents would be better suited getting some mins. on a playoff team...and then a bunch of young guys running around like the chicken with no head.

and while I don't think Stevens is tanking I actually believe he's trying to win. but I think Stevens is in on danny's plan to tank.

if they don't get what it is they're holding out for in return for green/bass and end up settling for a rondo deal. we can look at this as another mistake.

I certainly hope you're right about Stevens being more in on Danny's plan than trying to win above all else. Otherwise--yikes!

Danny's plan is pretty transparent.  We've seen it before.  Collect assets, buy low and sell high, try to target stars.   The second we traded KG and Pierce, everything else that has happened was predictable....  Doc leaving, collecting draft picks, finding Ricky Davis-esque reclamation projects (Evan Turner), showcasing vets and developing youth, dumping vets for expiring contracts, putting the team in position to fail so we can get high picks, etc.    We obviously were going to try hard to land a star... which we tried this summer with Kevin Love, but didn't have enough assets to get it done yet.  Remember it took Danny about 4 years to collect enough assets to land the 32 year old KG.  We'll get there eventually.

The plan is a loose set of guidelines:  Collect youth, picks, and expiring contracts.  PUt team in position to land superstar prospects in the draft.   

Everyone should have known what was going on.   Doc Rivers clearly knew what was going on... that's why he didn't want to stick around.  I never blamed Doc for that.  It was blatantly clear to anyone paying attention that we were on the verge of a lengthy rebuild and all the garbage that goes along with it.    There's no way Ainge hired the college kid as his coach without communicating to him what a torturous 3-5 years it was going to be.  Doc went through it in the early years of his Celtic run... and now Brad is going through it.  There's a reason why Ainge gave Brad a guaranteed 6 year deal.  It was an admission, "Look, we aren't judging you on wins and losses here... there's a lot of motives you'll need to balance, but the potential reward could be high if we do our job.  Doc went through this.  People misinterpreted what he was doing.  They complained about his rotations.  They wanted him fired.  Doc and I had an understanding.  Eventually, Doc coached a champion.  People will remember him as a great coach, not a company man who balanced our festering assets.  Eventually, they will see you as a great coach too... just gotta get through the nasty bit."

There is literally no way Brad isn't aware of what's going on here.  He was hired because of his demeanor.  He's a nice intelligent guy.  He doesn't lash out at the players or anything.  He's patient.  We need a patient coach for this process.  You can't hire someone like Stan Van Gundy... it would be a disaster.  So we plucked a young College coach who can be here for the long haul.  You really can't judge anything Brad is doing.  It's all for the greater good.   

As soon as the vets are shipped out, we'll all be able to lose in peace.

The problem with that argument is that if Stevens can't get these players to play hard and play smart, why should we think he's going to do it with any players?

Another problem is that if nothing happening in this season matters, why are you wasting money on Stevens and racking up maybe 100 to 150 losses on his record over his first three years?  Why not pay some longtime NBA assistant half as much to man the fort until you're ready to compete and get a big time coach?

There have been plenty of examples of losing teams that still played like they were well coached.  Does ANYONE think this team looks like it's well coached?

Mike

I agree with the highlighted text above.  The Stevens contract was a head-scratcher from the beginning. Six years for a rookie coach seems like a lot. Now it seems that he has lost the confidence of the players, and the roster is a mess. How can anyone possibly expect him to be successful?

I agree with the above post.   I think Doc s old assistant Lou would have been a better choice.  Maybe he still is .   

I look for Stevens to pack his bags and run.

or maybe because ainge expected to have a lot of young players and wanted a coach who could work with young players and develop their basketball skills.

you know, sometimes people make decisions that differ from ours but are still reasonable.

[dreamgreen]

Here we go. Think I was one of the first to say CBS is underachieving as the coach. To me it was right out of the gate, poor effort by the players constantly. I'd add to this the passing on this team is just god awful! I'm confused how a pro team can not get the ball into the low post.

I just don't think his nice guy, positive about everything works on real competitors. Me personally I like to be challenged, and others need to be pushed and get p---ed to really bring it. Everyone is great, and lets hold hands and talk nice to each other doesn't work on men that have to play against other men that want it more.

I don't think talent is going to change that unless he has a bunch of KGs on the team.

[Timbaland7]

First off, I would like to point out that this may be the best thread in the history of CB.  The opinions are all well thought out, well articulated, and the back and forth is phenomenal.  It should be required that all newbies read this thread before ever posting. 

This feels different than when Doc was coaching and losing.  During Doc's entire tenure, I never felt like Doc lost his team.  Not once.  Even when they lost 18 in a row.  That team was working their asses off each night to win.  They were facing tough competition when their streak got to 14 games.  Nobody wanted to be the team the lost to the Celtics and broke the streak.

You can talk about how Pierce was on the team and they had veteran leadership, but I'm not buying that either.  When Doc came on board Pierce was a spoiled brat, hated by many people.  Pierce and Doc clashed big time in their first two years.  Pierce wanted out on several occasions.  Even with all of that turmoil, Doc never lost his team.

Brad Stevens seems to have lost his team right now.  This is the biggest test he has seen so far.  Let's see how he comes out of it.  I hope he figures it out because what I see right now is an excellent assistant coach, not a leader.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Here we go. Think I was one of the first to say CBS is underachieving as the coach. To me it was right out of the gate, poor effort by the players constantly. I'd add to this the passing on this team is just god awful! I'm confused how a pro team can not get the ball into the low post.

I just don't think his nice guy, positive about everything works on real competitors. Me personally I like to be challenged, and others need to be pushed and get p---ed to really bring it. Everyone is great, and lets hold hands and talk nice to each other doesn't work on men that have to play against other men that want it more.

I don't think talent is going to change that unless he has a bunch of KGs on the team.

I think all that stuff is total nonsense.  You take it seriously or you don't, there have been plenty of teams that were "angry" that did well and there have been plenty of teams that were jokey and heavy on comradery that did well, too.

Then I typed out and deleted a ridiculously frustrating moment from my rec league basketball playoffs last night where the refs gave the other team 7 free throws in a row when we were up by 3 with 9 seconds left, then called the game so we couldn't retaliate, but then I realized nobody cared.  The point was that I would rather have a serious, level headed team over a serious, aggressive team.  Aggression is what beats up on bad and mediocre teams by large margins.  Level headedness is what makes you truly good.  If you have the skills, it shouldn't matter if you're angry or happy or whatever.

[Surferdad]

First off, I would like to point out that this may be the best thread in the history of CB.  The opinions are all well thought out, well articulated, and the back and forth is phenomenal.  It should be required that all newbies read this thread before ever posting. 

This feels different than when Doc was coaching and losing.  During Doc's entire tenure, I never felt like Doc lost his team.  Not once.  Even when they lost 18 in a row.  That team was working their asses off each night to win.  They were facing tough competition when their streak got to 14 games.  Nobody wanted to be the team the lost to the Celtics and broke the streak.

You can talk about how Pierce was on the team and they had veteran leadership, but I'm not buying that either.  When Doc came on board Pierce was a spoiled brat, hated by many people.  Pierce and Doc clashed big time in their first two years.  Pierce wanted out on several occasions.  Even with all of that turmoil, Doc never lost his team.

Brad Stevens seems to have lost his team right now.  This is the biggest test he has seen so far.  Let's see how he comes out of it.  I hope he figures it out because what I see right now is an excellent assistant coach, not a leader.

TP for you, for great complements on this thread and also for comments about Stevens. This is his most difficult challenge so far and yes, I distinctly recall the 18game losing streak and how hard they players every single night. It was what kept me watching. Now though...I almost can't watch this team. It is awful basketball, the team has no direction, no leadership oh and ...no talent.