Brad Stevens - "We are not as good as our record"

[Clench123]

“Well, we’ll see,” Stevens told the Herald. “We’ll see. I’ve said all along that we’re not as good as our record. And until we play with better poise and we play with better purpose all the way through, then we’ll have nights like that (against the Clippers)."

“I think the biggest thing is we’re 28-14 in close games,” Stevens said. “Usually you don’t have quite that discrepancy.

“We’ve been fortunate. We have to get better. I think that everybody talks about chasing other teams or whatever the case may be. We have a long way to be what I think is competitive at a necessary level to be really good when it’s all on the line.”

This is why I like this guy.  He is blunt.  He's not the type to bull**** you.  This is what he's been saying all season long.  Even he knows his players lack of effort and sense of urgency. 

It's certainly on the players and the fact that we have this good a record despite the horrible effort we've displayed all season speaks to Brad's greatness. 

[mctyson]

“Well, we’ll see,” Stevens told the Herald. “We’ll see. I’ve said all along that we’re not as good as our record. And until we play with better poise and we play with better purpose all the way through, then we’ll have nights like that (against the Clippers)."

“I think the biggest thing is we’re 28-14 in close games,” Stevens said. “Usually you don’t have quite that discrepancy.

“We’ve been fortunate. We have to get better. I think that everybody talks about chasing other teams or whatever the case may be. We have a long way to be what I think is competitive at a necessary level to be really good when it’s all on the line.”

This is why I like this guy.  He is blunt.  He's not the type to bull**** you.  This is what he's been saying all season long.  Even he knows his players lack of effort and sense of urgency. 

It's certainly on the players and the fact that we have this good a record despite the horrible effort we've displayed all season speaks to Brad's greatness.

This statement means no one can help you.

[GreenWarrior]

Celtics fans can label Stevens as being great all they want, but what makes an NBA coach great is managing and winning with the ego of top NBA players. X's an O's are 1% when measuring the "greatness" of an NBA coach. 

[CelticsJG]

Anyone who is not a homer could this

[MBunge]

Stevens is wrong.  The Celtics are just as good as their record.  They've shown they can be on the same level as the best teams in the league but they are also capable of losing to the worst.  It's a testament to him we can be that good with dominant talent.  But he also has some responsibility for the lack of effort and attention to detail we see from this team at its worst.

For example, the defensive effort has improved noticeably but that's only 80% of defense.  The other 20% is making that second, third and even fourth rotation.  That stuff is still pretty questionable and that's because Stevens allowed lax effort.  Making those extended rotations need to become second nature through repetition but that can't happen when you barely make that first rotation.

Mike

[TheSundanceKid]

Celtics fans can label Stevens as being great all they want, but what makes an NBA coach great is managing and winning with the ego of top NBA players. X's an O's are 1% when measuring the "greatness" of an NBA coach.

Is there anything to suggest he can't? He hasn't had access to the top echelon of talent yet but I'm not ready to doubt him when he does.

Stevens is on the same wavelength as a lot of us. We know our defence is down from last year, we know that we cruise through some games when last year we'd fight the whole way. We also know that this is a much improved team from last year. He's saying the right things to get our guys hungry again.

We need the 2nd seed and Washington are going to fight hard for it. Last season we slipped from 3rd and it cost us big time. Brad has to make sure we don't make the same mistake this year

[Surferdad]

Celtics fans can label Stevens as being great all they want, but what makes an NBA coach great is managing and winning with the ego of top NBA players. X's an O's are 1% when measuring the "greatness" of an NBA coach.

Is there anything to suggest he can't? He hasn't had access to the top echelon of talent yet but I'm not ready to doubt him when he does.

Stevens is on the same wavelength as a lot of us. We know our defence is down from last year, we know that we cruise through some games when last year we'd fight the whole way. We also know that this is a much improved team from last year. He's saying the right things to get our guys hungry again.

We need the 2nd seed and Washington are going to fight hard for it. Last season we slipped from 3rd and it cost us big time. Brad has to make sure we don't make the same mistake this year

Yup, and I don't mind that or even when IT calls out Brad.  It's not a blame game, more like looking for improvement and being candid about it.