Are We There Yet With Brad Stevens?

[SparzWizard]

I'm getting close to putting him on the hot seat with how poorly he's been managing this team- rotation-wise, timeout management, locker room things, and not adjusting in 3rd quarters. Oh, Jaylen Brown is hot? Let's sit him for Marcus Morris whose been cold all night long.

[bdm860]

We're in the middle of Mighty Ducks 2 right now.

The last few years, Stevens took a bunch of misfits and outperformed beyond expectations.  That was Mighty Ducks 1.

Now the C's were expected to kick butt, having brought in some ringers around the old team that outperformed, yet the team is struggling to gel and the superior coaching we saw before hasn't been there. Maybe Stevens has strayed from his roots a little?  Maybe it's because the C's have been flirting with the Iceland chick (Anthony Davis)?  Who knows, all I know is we're smack dab in the middle of Mighty Ducks 2.

Sometime between now and the playoffs the C's players need to hold an unofficial practice at some ragtag court, and have some street kids remind them of the true meaning of teamwork and their love of the game.

Oh ya, and whoever the C's sign to fill a roster spot, needs to have some funky shot that nobody can defend against.

This is where we're at right now.

[SHAQATTACK]

What are we talking about, exactly? Brad needs to take some criticism for the underwhelming play or Bard's seat is actually getting hot? Brad obviously needs to take some responsibility for the team's energy night in and night out and these bad 3rd quarters we see.

But I don't think he's on the hot seat in the slightest.

I don't think he's on the hot seat, but my feeling is that Brad had earned the benefit of the doubt for a good long while based on the team's results the past few seasons.

But I think we've gone past the point where Brad can escape being a part of the discussion about what is wrong with this year's team.

I agree with all this ^

[RJ87]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

We need Baynes.

If Aron baynes makes that large a difference, doesn't that say more about the rest of the team?

That's my thinking.

I'm a big Baynes fan, but a lot of people around here were saying, early in the season, that he really didn't add much to the team. Now a lot of people are talking like he's the silver bullet that'll solve all of the team's issues (I think he'll help, but he's definitely not "the answer").

[Big333223]

We're in the middle of Mighty Ducks 2 right now.

The last few years, Stevens took a bunch of misfits and outperformed beyond expectations.  That was Mighty Ducks 1.

Now the C's were expected to kick butt, having brought in some ringers around the old team that outperformed, yet the team is struggling to gel and the superior coaching we saw before hasn't been there. Maybe Stevens has strayed from his roots a little?  Maybe it's because the C's have been flirting with the Iceland chick (Anthony Davis)?  Who knows, all I know is we're smack dab in the middle of Mighty Ducks 2.

Sometime between now and the playoffs the C's players need to hold an unofficial practice at some ragtag court, and have some street kids remind them of the true meaning of teamwork and their love of the game.

Oh ya, and whoever the C's sign to fill a roster spot, needs to have some funky shot that nobody can defend against.

This is where we're at right now.

This is spot-on analysis. Someone get a VHS player and a copy of the movie to the Auerbach center, ASAP.

[td450]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

The problem with this lineup is that you are running it with a ball dominant scoring point guard who doesn't push the pace. The other 4 can all score OK in isolation, but all of them are better doing that sparingly. They all play better in a pace and movement style offense.

Those are our 5 best players. I don't think they can fit playing at the same time that well, but I think they should all play 32 minutes, spread out fairly evenly so 3 are always on the court. They should take almost all the shots, so Smart, Baynes and Theis fit better than Morris and Rozier.

[PhoSita]

We need Baynes.

If Aron baynes makes that large a difference, doesn't that say more about the rest of the team?

That's my thinking.

I'm a big Baynes fan, but a lot of people around here were saying, early in the season, that he really didn't add much to the team. Now a lot of people are talking like he's the silver bullet that'll solve all of the team's issues (I think he'll help, but he's definitely not "the answer").

I would say the type of player the Celts are missing is Domantas Sabonis.  He's the platonic ideal of what I think the team could really use.

A skilled, burly, do-a-bit-of-everything big who can shoot a little but also grab a ton of boards, do stuff inside, and do the skilled handoff work that Stevens expects of his bigs.

Baynes is sort of a poor, poor man's version of Sabonis.

[smokeablount]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

The problem with this lineup is that you are running it with a ball dominant scoring point guard who doesn't push the pace. The other 4 can all score OK in isolation, but all of them are better doing that sparingly. They all play better in a pace and movement style offense.

Those are our 5 best players. I don't think they can fit playing at the same time that well, but I think they should all play 32 minutes, spread out fairly evenly so 3 are always on the court. They should take almost all the shots, so Smart, Baynes and Theis fit better than Morris and Rozier.

I'm not sure why Kyrie is the problem with that lineup, he's by far our best player and possibly passer.  He's 10th in the NBA in assists per game and 11th in assist rate, a few decimals ahead of Ben Simmons.  He's not a ball stopper.

He's also only 18th in usage rate in the NBA (and it's below 30) while being 14th in scoring, 11th in PER and 9th in Win Shares per 48.  So his ball dominance is overstated but very, very efficient.  Kyrie isn't the issue here.

[gouki88]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

The problem with this lineup is that you are running it with a ball dominant scoring point guard who doesn't push the pace. The other 4 can all score OK in isolation, but all of them are better doing that sparingly. They all play better in a pace and movement style offense.

Those are our 5 best players. I don't think they can fit playing at the same time that well, but I think they should all play 32 minutes, spread out fairly evenly so 3 are always on the court. They should take almost all the shots, so Smart, Baynes and Theis fit better than Morris and Rozier.

I'm not sure why Kyrie is the problem with that lineup, he's by far our best player and he's 10th in the NBA in assists per game and 11th in assist rate, a few decimals behind Ben Simmons.  He's not a ball stopper.

He's also only 18th in usage rate in the NBA (and it's below 30) while being 14th in scoring, 11th in PER and 9th in Win Shares per 48.  So his ball dominance is overstated but very, very efficient.  Kyrie isn't the issue here.

TP. Sick of the myth about Kyrie being some ball-stopper

[CptZoogs]

We're in the middle of Mighty Ducks 2 right now.

The last few years, Stevens took a bunch of misfits and outperformed beyond expectations.  That was Mighty Ducks 1.

Now the C's were expected to kick butt, having brought in some ringers around the old team that outperformed, yet the team is struggling to gel and the superior coaching we saw before hasn't been there. Maybe Stevens has strayed from his roots a little?  Maybe it's because the C's have been flirting with the Iceland chick (Anthony Davis)?  Who knows, all I know is we're smack dab in the middle of Mighty Ducks 2.

Sometime between now and the playoffs the C's players need to hold an unofficial practice at some ragtag court, and have some street kids remind them of the true meaning of teamwork and their love of the game.

Oh ya, and whoever the C's sign to fill a roster spot, needs to have some funky shot that nobody can defend against.

This is where we're at right now.

I could of sworn it was Major League 2, with Terry playing the roll of Willy Mays Hayes!

[SparzWizard]

We need Baynes.

If Aron baynes makes that large a difference, doesn't that say more about the rest of the team?

That's my thinking.

I'm a big Baynes fan, but a lot of people around here were saying, early in the season, that he really didn't add much to the team. Now a lot of people are talking like he's the silver bullet that'll solve all of the team's issues (I think he'll help, but he's definitely not "the answer").

I remember Aron Baynes was dubbed as "lobster hands" where he had trouble securing rebounds. Now he is apparently our savior. He basically fills the Kendrick Perkins role.

The other guys need to learn to share the ball and work together as a team.

[Chief]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

The problem with this lineup is that you are running it with a ball dominant scoring point guard who doesn't push the pace. The other 4 can all score OK in isolation, but all of them are better doing that sparingly. They all play better in a pace and movement style offense.

Those are our 5 best players. I don't think they can fit playing at the same time that well, but I think they should all play 32 minutes, spread out fairly evenly so 3 are always on the court. They should take almost all the shots, so Smart, Baynes and Theis fit better than Morris and Rozier.

I'm not sure why Kyrie is the problem with that lineup, he's by far our best player and possibly passer.  He's 10th in the NBA in assists per game and 11th in assist rate, a few decimals ahead of Ben Simmons.  He's not a ball stopper.

He's also only 18th in usage rate in the NBA (and it's below 30) while being 14th in scoring, 11th in PER and 9th in Win Shares per 48.  So his ball dominance is overstated but very, very efficient.  Kyrie isn't the issue here.

I dont like his ball dominance or defense.  Both could easily be improved though.

[td450]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

The problem with this lineup is that you are running it with a ball dominant scoring point guard who doesn't push the pace. The other 4 can all score OK in isolation, but all of them are better doing that sparingly. They all play better in a pace and movement style offense.

Those are our 5 best players. I don't think they can fit playing at the same time that well, but I think they should all play 32 minutes, spread out fairly evenly so 3 are always on the court. They should take almost all the shots, so Smart, Baynes and Theis fit better than Morris and Rozier.

I'm not sure why Kyrie is the problem with that lineup, he's by far our best player and possibly passer.  He's 10th in the NBA in assists per game and 11th in assist rate, a few decimals ahead of Ben Simmons.  He's not a ball stopper.

He's also only 18th in usage rate in the NBA (and it's below 30) while being 14th in scoring, 11th in PER and 9th in Win Shares per 48.  So his ball dominance is overstated but very, very efficient.  Kyrie isn't the issue here.

Having a superstar scorer isn't a problem, but it does make it hard for all four other starters to get 15 shots every night. Teams usually solve that by playing at least one role player. Marcus Smart is a good fit for such a role.

Rather than make Kyrie change to fit a style he isn't suited to, we can spread out our best five to maximize their shot opportunities, but play them starter minutes. I'd rather have Brown and Hayward play 32 minutes each and take some of the shots that Rozier and Morris are taking.

[smokeablount]

I support shaking up the rotation and roles.

I want to live and die by Gordon Hayward at this point.  I want us to ride a big 3 of kyrie, Tatum and Hayward with everyone else secondary.

This is where I'm at. If in the end it's going to be about the Irving/Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Horford lineup, then we need to roll with it.

The problem with this lineup is that you are running it with a ball dominant scoring point guard who doesn't push the pace. The other 4 can all score OK in isolation, but all of them are better doing that sparingly. They all play better in a pace and movement style offense.

Those are our 5 best players. I don't think they can fit playing at the same time that well, but I think they should all play 32 minutes, spread out fairly evenly so 3 are always on the court. They should take almost all the shots, so Smart, Baynes and Theis fit better than Morris and Rozier.

I'm not sure why Kyrie is the problem with that lineup, he's by far our best player and possibly passer.  He's 10th in the NBA in assists per game and 11th in assist rate, a few decimals ahead of Ben Simmons.  He's not a ball stopper.

He's also only 18th in usage rate in the NBA (and it's below 30) while being 14th in scoring, 11th in PER and 9th in Win Shares per 48.  So his ball dominance is overstated but very, very efficient.  Kyrie isn't the issue here.

Having a superstar scorer isn't a problem, but it does make it hard for all four other starters to get 15 shots every night. Teams usually solve that by playing at least one role player. Marcus Smart is a good fit for such a role.

Rather than make Kyrie change to fit a style he isn't suited to, we can spread out our best five to maximize their shot opportunities, but play them starter minutes. I'd rather have Brown and Hayward play 32 minutes each and take some of the shots that Rozier and Morris are taking.

I don’t think all 4 other starters will / should get 15 shots a night, but I agree with scaling back Smart / Rozier / Morris shots like you suggest.