unless, of course, we redefine competent to include placing a priority on team rebuilt, player development, experiments with match ups, experiments with diads and triads, learning about players and play in the nba as CBS is given lots of rope to experiment and make mistakes, and NOT define competency strictly as wins or loses for a team that is intentionally devoid of great talent.
there are alternative explanations for CBS decisions than solely incompetence. i am not ruling it out as one partial explanation in certain areas since no coach is good at all things just as no player is good at all things. however, i would think that placing such a judgement upon CBS and his brief career and in this situation would be glib, if not rash, to say the least.
If Stevens and/or Ainge don't understand the importance of winning, then incompetent would not be too strong a word. This team wins about 25 games again and players will stop listening to them.
Mike
i just dont see it as being this simple and straightforward, though i can see your basic point.
i, for one, am happy that player development is more important to CBS and ainge than winning an additional handful of games this season. win-loss records can be viewed across seasons - losses this season might allow for more wins next season if players develop properly.
i am unhappy that green, bass and nelson get the playing time they do. are you suggesting that these players should get more time if it meant a few more wins for the celtics? if so, we will agree to to disagree.
the players above may increase the odds of winning a game here or there, but it also could delay development of younger players. i understand it is helpful for the kids to play with vets and the role vets can play as leaders. easy for us to spout opinions on a blog, but this is a difficult balance to put into play in the real nba world.
maybe this helps explain, in part, some of CBS decisions - how to best balance player development with winning. i dont think there is a single, perfect balance since this team is so inconsistent. by its nature it will create a lot of "poor" decisions given the makeup of the team and the tensions between these goals.