So we're back to liking Stevens, right?

[Smokeeye123]

Hahahaha!!! suddenly Rondo is the best PG in the NBA, Stevens made the adjustment and the celtics played better, they would have won those 2 games with or without Rondo playing

That's the problem. Rondo is decidedly not the best PG in the NBA, and Brad Stevens' team was somehow still getting their behind handed to them on a platter for two games. And since you can't evaluate the "adjustment" independently from Rondo's injury, there's no telling whether we would have won these games with Rondo playing.

Absolutely correct, but the celtics face a lose/lose scenario media wise now. If they win 4 in a row and eliminate the bulls it's because Rondo was hurt. And if they lose to the Bulls it's a colossal failure.

[Big333223]

I think Stevens caught some deserved flack after the first two games and is now getting some deserved credit for making some changes and getting some wins. A good player doesn't play good every night and a good coach doesn't coach good every night. But Stevens has to show a little more foresight and consistency in the playoffs if he wants to continue to be thought of as a good coach

Yes, Rondo being out matters but I still think the biggest problem in those 2 games was the Celtics playing really bad, not the Bulls playing so great.

[kozlodoev]

Hahahaha!!! suddenly Rondo is the best PG in the NBA, Stevens made the adjustment and the celtics played better, they would have won those 2 games with or without Rondo playing

That's the problem. Rondo is decidedly not the best PG in the NBA, and Brad Stevens' team was somehow still getting their behind handed to them on a platter for two games. And since you can't evaluate the "adjustment" independently from Rondo's injury, there's no telling whether we would have won these games with Rondo playing.

Absolutely correct, but the celtics face a lose/lose scenario media wise now. If they win 4 in a row and eliminate the bulls it's because Rondo was hurt. And if they lose to the Bulls it's a colossal failure.

I think winning the series after going 2 games down on a home stand is a decent achievement on its own merit. But yeah, there's probably some of what you describe there.

[celticsclay]

Hahahaha!!! suddenly Rondo is the best PG in the NBA, Stevens made the adjustment and the celtics played better, they would have won those 2 games with or without Rondo playing

That's the problem. Rondo is decidedly not the best PG in the NBA, and Brad Stevens' team was somehow still getting their behind handed to them on a platter for two games. And since you can't evaluate the "adjustment" independently from Rondo's injury, there's no telling whether we would have won these games with Rondo playing.

Absolutely correct, but the celtics face a lose/lose scenario media wise now. If they win 4 in a row and eliminate the bulls it's because Rondo was hurt. And if they lose to the Bulls it's a colossal failure.

I think winning the series after going 2 games down on a home stand is a decent achievement on its own merit. But yeah, there's probably some of what you describe there.

Nobody will be happy no matter what we do. If we beat the Warriors in the finals there would be threads lamenting that Brown did not play enough or that we wouldn't repeat because IT was too short.

[cltc5]

Look at all of us trying to make sense of our team so we feel good about ourselves.****

[ballin]

Honestly, asking this question to celticsblog is just barking up the wrong tree I've realized.

Everybody here watches a LOT of basketball and thinks about basketball and analyzes basketball - i.e., everybody that has ever felt compelled to make a single post here is on some level an armchair coach and an armchair GM. So I guess I'm not surprised that Stevens is receiving flak, since everybody thinks they can do his job (only better).

But, news flash, you can't. Stevens got BUTLER to back to back NCAA championships. He turned around our rebuilding team faster than it was even ready for. And then he followed up on that by turning our team (seriously, look at our roster) into a 1 seed? It's freaking miraculous. And Ainge... Ainge pulled off the heist of the century with Brooklyn, and formed the KG/Allen/Pierce super team. His draft record has been very above par in terms of finding talent where he's able to pick. Every time I (and everyone else) criticize him, times reveals that he made the correct choice.

"Jaylen Brown is a bad pick" Wrong. Brown is a future all-star... that might have been the pick of the draft.

"Smart over Randle? We'll regret that" Randle steadily lost his playing time over the course of a season and hasn't been doing much.

Look, Ainge and Stevens aren't perfect. But they're pretty darn good. This "Stevens in hot water, Ainge in hot water" junk should probably stop, is all I'm saying.

[mysteryMrE]

Honestly, asking this question to celticsblog is just barking up the wrong tree I've realized.

Everybody here watches a LOT of basketball and thinks about basketball and analyzes basketball - i.e., everybody that has ever felt compelled to make a single post here is on some level an armchair coach and an armchair GM. So I guess I'm not surprised that Stevens is receiving flak, since everybody thinks they can do his job (only better).

But, news flash, you can't. Stevens got BUTLER to back to back NCAA championships. He turned around our rebuilding team faster than it was even ready for. And then he followed up on that by turning our team (seriously, look at our roster) into a 1 seed? It's freaking miraculous. And Ainge... Ainge pulled off the heist of the century with Brooklyn, and formed the KG/Allen/Pierce super team. His draft record has been very above par in terms of finding talent where he's able to pick. Every time I (and everyone else) criticize him, times reveals that he made the correct choice.

"Jaylen Brown is a bad pick" Wrong. Brown is a future all-star... that might have been the pick of the draft.

"Smart over Randle? We'll regret that" Randle steadily lost his playing time over the course of a season and hasn't been doing much.

Look, Ainge and Stevens aren't perfect. But they're pretty darn good. This "Stevens in hot water, Ainge in hot water" junk should probably stop, is all I'm saying.

About as accurate of a post as I have read in awhile. The Celtics are in a great place and it is because of Ainge and Stevens that we have these newly placed lofty expectations.

[kozlodoev]

Saying "Jaylen Brown is a bad pick" is just as wrong as "Jaylen Brown is a future all star".

Also, not everyone here watches a lot of basketball, really...

[CelticsElite]

Lol

[Eja117]

I've got exclusive video here of Brad Stevens talking to Greg Popvic about game planning and scheming. (Language trigger warning)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz1siP7pItc

I hear a minute later he lit the schemes on fire and threw them in the trash, upon which Popvich jumped across the room and grabbed them and blew them out.

[greece66]

when did we stop liking stevens?

[greece66]

Saying "Jaylen Brown is a bad pick" is just as wrong as "Jaylen Brown is a future all star".

Also, not everyone here watches a lot of basketball, really...

come on kozlo, im sure it s way more than the average joe   

[Big333223]

I've got exclusive video here of Brad Stevens talking to Greg Popvic about game planning and scheming. (Language trigger warning)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz1siP7pItc

I hear a minute later he lit the schemes on fire and threw them in the trash, upon which Popvich jumped across the room and grabbed them and blew them out.

Very good.

[Celtics4ever]

Seriously, the overreaction against Stevens was insane after we went down 0-2. We went down 0-2 because it's a bad matchup (which is on Ainge for building the team the way he has) and because none of our guys stepped up.

I really want to take a moment to remind everyone that Stevens is the only reason we even have the 1 seed. His playoff record has been poor so far because of the situations he has been in, not because he's a bad coach. That's like criticizing Lebron for his finals record when it's a miracle he even made it to half the finals he did.

1) I never gave up on CBS.   You never hear him say that he is great or the like.

2)   LeBron asks for and deserves any criticism he gets.   Down with the King!  LeBron is often in conversations saying he is the greatest of all time.   I think he believes it, too.   This makes criticisms of his finals records fair game.