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

[tarheelsxxiii]

Jae Crowder was my favorite celtic the minute he got here.

Same here.

Edit: After reading the full quote, I like him even more. We haven't had someone with that mentality since the Big 4 + Perk.

[jpotter33]

Crowder's full quote..very interesting

Crowder added: "I know (Stevens is) trying to figure it out. The coaching staff's trying to figure out and us as players are trying to figure it out. But we shouldn't have to figure out playing hard. As a basketball player you should always be ready to play hard no matter what the situation is. Our new guys, old guys, whatever it is, you should always have yourself ready to play hard."

One reporter asked Crowder what Stevens can do differently with his preparation.

"I don't know what he can do to prepare," the small forward responded. "But when something like that happens, I guess hold guys accountable early. Just don't let it keep happening. We just kept digging ourselves in a hole. I just feel like he's got to hold guys a little more accountable."

Does that mean screaming, benching players, something else?

"All of the above. Whatever it takes," Crowder said. "You've got to find out what it takes for your unit, for your team. I've been around coaches who cut guys' minutes, who yell at them. Sometimes, some coaches do all of the above, like I said. But whatever it is you've got to hold guys accountable. Show them in film session of what's going on and how we can get better a little bit more, and go from there.

"It's being done, but I think it has to step up a notch because we've lost however many out of the last however many, and he keeps saying the same thing is happening. I think we have to switch it up a little bit and find out what works for the team."

'

He's exactly right, but I just don't think that's who Brad is. He's not the Pop-type that's going to yell and scream at his superstars while keeping a close relationship with them. That's just not Brad, but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

[vinnie]

And now we enter the "blame the coach because we have no established talent" phase of the rebuild.

actually, this thread's tone reminds me of  celticblog threads about doc rivers prior to the big 3 getting together. no talent on the team meant doc couldn't coach. doc was awful, crap, incompetent, unable to coach he way out of a paper bag and he would never have the celtics win.

amazing what having talented players on the team does to a coach.

this is a tough time for everyone. but as the celtics showed before, once you get talent on the team and win games, suddenly the coach is good and players are happy and celticsblog becomes a lot less crabby.

i am glad some players are cranky about losing. it shows spirit. as for CBS, he has coached a total of how many nba games and some posters have written him off already. no chance to grow, no chance to learn, no chance to coach a team with talent. they just write him off.

i think stevens will do fine. it is hard but i respect what he is doing under hard circumstances.

this board is often impatient and a 3-5 year rebuild doesnt make many people happy. but it is what it is and ainge is making progress towards acquiring talent.

How many times was Doc quoted basically saying he is still learning the game? No comparison here. None.

[jpotter33]

I'm convinced Brad and Danny are all in for the tank. They're both extremely intelligent people, and they know a middle of the pack team isn't helping us. But this is the Boston Celtics. There is heritage, pride, and meaning behind this organization, so a blatant Philly tank job just isn't in the books. That would explain the horrible substitutions, rotations, and minute distributions throughout the year, and I think we all know that Brad is intelligent enough to not keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Hasn't anyone else found it funny that Brad always seems to take out the guy on a hot streak who is leading a run?

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I'm not really surprised. Ever since the tanking talk when we traded KG and Paul, I'm concerned that at some point a team full of competitors wont take kindly the idea of intentional sucking. And it's showing.

I'm a fan of Jae Crowder. He doesnt like the situation and he's speaking out.

Brad needs to stop with this rotations already. Figure out the 9-10 players that he really is going to play. I don't know if this is him or Ainge has told him to do this, but he has to stop.

[Celtics18]

Sure.

I think Jae's hit the nail square on the head.  The team's woes right now could all be fixed just by "trying harder."

It's a nice sentiment, anyway. 

[vinnie]

Stevens has done nothing but win in his college career. You can tell the losses are starting to get to him. Tonight's comments are coming from a frustrated guy and you have to wonder how long it will be before Indiana makes a run at him and he decides to take the offer and leave.

[NYDan]

Jae Crowder was my favorite celtic the minute he got here.

I hope he sticks around for a while. He leaves it on the court every night, must be discouraging to see teammates going through the motions and not getting called out for it. Has a right to question that.

A lot of this is definitely on Danny. Our rotations suck because the depth chart doesn't make sense, we're one foot in a youth movement and one foot in a solid veteran role player movement and there's too many minutes to go around. Until the trades come it's time play those who want to go hard and sit those that don't, regardless of salary or talent level. Easier said than done maybe, but the positive encouragement approach doesn't seem to be working on this group.

[MBunge]

Sure.

I think Jae's hit the nail square on the head.  The team's woes right now could all be fixed just by "trying harder."

It's a nice sentiment, anyway.

That's not what Crowder is saying.  He's saying the coach can't tolerate guys not trying.

Mike

[Yoki_IsTheName]

A few thoughts I have on this...

- Brad is a players coach...to a fault.  He seems to be a bit of a people pleaser.  That might work in the living room of a high school senior, but not the world of millionaire nba players.  I get that he's cool and calm, but my goodness, the guy just seems to be so stoic it's frustrating.

- Danny has done Brad NO FAVORS.  I remember Danny saying last year that the roster lacked balance.  Well, Danny boy, you've done it again...  You've assembled a roster of 15 players in which ALL OF THEM need to play.  They are all basically role players, and they ALL could play 25-30 minutes per night.  Oh, and once Thornton comes back what will yet again happen to Brad's rotations??  It's a mess, and Danny needs to start shipping some pieces out.

- Which leads me to this point: Brad needs to show some stones and JUST PLAY a rotation of TEN GUYS!!  So 5 guys aren't happy??  Who cares...  Be a man and put your foot down.  If it means that Bass, Jameer, Thornton, Wallace and Avery sit - so be it.  Let's be honest: how many of these guys are coming back?  How many of them will even be here come late February?  Yet Brad seems like he wants to be the likeable guy and not offend anyone...  But it's not working.

I still have a bit of a problem with this.

Like I said a few times already on other threads, his coaching history with Butler and his rotations are DIFFERENT than what he's doing with Boston.

Over here, he's playing too many men, distributing minutes to someone who probably doesnt even deserve any. In Butler, he has been 9 deep, with the starters playing heavy minutes. Something doesnt add up to me.

Which is why I believe that the rotations are more Danny than Brad. Showcasing talent to have their trade values increase. He never went 11 deep in Butler playing 10 minutes or more. But in Boston he's playing 12 guys. That's two different rotation philosophies. Either he still hasnt figured out his rotation or someone from above is telling him to play the other guys.

[D.o.s.]

This is the most Gerald Wallace-like Jae Crowder has ever been, so points to whoever made that comparison in advance a week or two ago.

[kozlodoev]

Which is why I believe that the rotations are more Danny than Brad. Showcasing talent to have their trade values increase. He never went 11 deep in Butler playing 10 minutes or more. But in Boston he's playing 12 guys. That's two different rotation philosophies. Either he still hasnt figured out his rotation or someone from above is telling him to play the other guys.

You really think that playing someone 5 minutes "showcases" them for anything? Most of our veterans are what they are, and as such are a pretty well known commodity around the league.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Which is why I believe that the rotations are more Danny than Brad. Showcasing talent to have their trade values increase. He never went 11 deep in Butler playing 10 minutes or more. But in Boston he's playing 12 guys. That's two different rotation philosophies. Either he still hasnt figured out his rotation or someone from above is telling him to play the other guys.

You really think that playing someone 5 minutes "showcases" them for anything? Most of our veterans are what they are, and as such are a pretty well known commodity around the league.

Agreed. There are no question marks regarding our vets to any league execs/coaches/players. Bass, Green, Nelson, etc. are who they are. And it makes me nauseous to see Nelson out there. Why isn't our good 'ol Danny Boy openly shopping these clowns, like he did his stars? He should be flipping right now... one move preceding another... and being very open about it. That removes all the question marks among players and fans, and openly gives Stevens the reigns to do as he pleases (i.e., give all the burn to the young guys).

[MBunge]

A few thoughts I have on this...

- Brad is a players coach...to a fault.  He seems to be a bit of a people pleaser.  That might work in the living room of a high school senior, but not the world of millionaire nba players.  I get that he's cool and calm, but my goodness, the guy just seems to be so stoic it's frustrating.

- Danny has done Brad NO FAVORS.  I remember Danny saying last year that the roster lacked balance.  Well, Danny boy, you've done it again...  You've assembled a roster of 15 players in which ALL OF THEM need to play.  They are all basically role players, and they ALL could play 25-30 minutes per night.  Oh, and once Thornton comes back what will yet again happen to Brad's rotations??  It's a mess, and Danny needs to start shipping some pieces out.

- Which leads me to this point: Brad needs to show some stones and JUST PLAY a rotation of TEN GUYS!!  So 5 guys aren't happy??  Who cares...  Be a man and put your foot down.  If it means that Bass, Jameer, Thornton, Wallace and Avery sit - so be it.  Let's be honest: how many of these guys are coming back?  How many of them will even be here come late February?  Yet Brad seems like he wants to be the likeable guy and not offend anyone...  But it's not working.

I still have a bit of a problem with this.

Like I said a few times already on other threads, his coaching history with Butler and his rotations are DIFFERENT than what he's doing with Boston.

Over here, he's playing too many men, distributing minutes to someone who probably doesnt even deserve any. In Butler, he has been 9 deep, with the starters playing heavy minutes. Something doesnt add up to me.

Which is why I believe that the rotations are more Danny than Brad. Showcasing talent to have their trade values increase. He never went 11 deep in Butler playing 10 minutes or more. But in Boston he's playing 12 guys. That's two different rotation philosophies. Either he still hasnt figured out his rotation or someone from above is telling him to play the other guys.

The problem with that theory is...what exactly Ainge telling him?

"You must play 11 guys in the first half?"

"You must start Jameer Nelson?"

"Okay, don't start Jameer?"

"Okay, now you can play guys and almost come back and win the game?"

Is Ainge tweeting him during the game with tanking orders?

Is Stevens so two-faced he can lose on purpose and then fake his frustration?

And if the purpose is taking, why aren't we better at it?

I think there's a simpler answer.

Mike

[hwangjini_1]

A few thoughts I have on this...

- Brad is a players coach...to a fault.  He seems to be a bit of a people pleaser.  That might work in the living room of a high school senior, but not the world of millionaire nba players.  I get that he's cool and calm, but my goodness, the guy just seems to be so stoic it's frustrating.

- Danny has done Brad NO FAVORS.  I remember Danny saying last year that the roster lacked balance.  Well, Danny boy, you've done it again...  You've assembled a roster of 15 players in which ALL OF THEM need to play.  They are all basically role players, and they ALL could play 25-30 minutes per night.  Oh, and once Thornton comes back what will yet again happen to Brad's rotations??  It's a mess, and Danny needs to start shipping some pieces out.

- Which leads me to this point: Brad needs to show some stones and JUST PLAY a rotation of TEN GUYS!!  So 5 guys aren't happy??  Who cares...  Be a man and put your foot down.  If it means that Bass, Jameer, Thornton, Wallace and Avery sit - so be it.  Let's be honest: how many of these guys are coming back?  How many of them will even be here come late February?  Yet Brad seems like he wants to be the likeable guy and not offend anyone...  But it's not working.

I still have a bit of a problem with this.

Like I said a few times already on other threads, his coaching history with Butler and his rotations are DIFFERENT than what he's doing with Boston.

Over here, he's playing too many men, distributing minutes to someone who probably doesnt even deserve any. In Butler, he has been 9 deep, with the starters playing heavy minutes. Something doesnt add up to me.

Which is why I believe that the rotations are more Danny than Brad. Showcasing talent to have their trade values increase. He never went 11 deep in Butler playing 10 minutes or more. But in Boston he's playing 12 guys. That's two different rotation philosophies. Either he still hasnt figured out his rotation or someone from above is telling him to play the other guys.

The problem with that theory is...what exactly Ainge telling him?

"You must play 11 guys in the first half?"

"You must start Jameer Nelson?"

"Okay, don't start Jameer?"

"Okay, now you can play guys and almost come back and win the game?"

Is Ainge tweeting him during the game with tanking orders?

Is Stevens so two-faced he can lose on purpose and then fake his frustration?

And if the purpose is taking, why aren't we better at it?

I think there's a simpler answer.

Mike

like this team stinks?