Celtics getting plenty of respect from the Stars

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2016/02/celtics_getting_plenty_of_respect_from_the_stars



Celtics getting plenty of respect from the Stars


Mark Murphy Sunday, February 14, 2016






Credit: AP photo
WORDS OF WISDOM: Isaiah Thomas gives a lot of credit for his success to three coaches: current boss Brad Stevens, above, Michael Malone and college coach Lorenzo Romar.




TORONTO — Isaiah Thomas’ first time in an NBA All-Star locker room was filled with a swirling amount of talk, a generous portion directed toward the Celtics guard’s team.

Third in the Eastern Conference and with big wins over the Cavaliers and Clippers just prior to the break, players wanted to talk about the Celtics.

“Everyone likes to watch the Boston Celtics, and how hard we play,” Thomas said.

As a number of All-Stars and coaches agreed this weekend, the Celtics now command the attention of the rest of the league — even more perhaps than during last season’s late playoff push.


Warrior mentality

The easy comparison for every newly good NBA team is Golden State, the reigning champion and a dominant small-ball team.

Closer to home, the Celtics’ depth and balance has been compared to Atlanta, especially last season when DeMarre Carroll was lending his variety of skills to the rotation. Some called the Hawks a star-less team, though the label would appear flawed considering the Hawks sent four players to last year’s All-Star Game.

Carroll left for Toronto, the Hawks slipped, and are said to now be pondering a fire sale. The Celtics have also moved ahead of them in the conference standings.

“I can see the similarities for sure, for sure,” Hawks power forward Paul Millsap said of his team and the C’s. “They’re like a game up on us in the standings, and they’re a very competitive group, first off.

“And with a competitive group, whatever system they have they’re going to compete. But with the system they have implemented, it makes them a little bit tougher. The things we do are tough to guard, and with what they do, it makes them very tough.”

With Golden State’s Draymond Green probably the most versatile frontcourt player in the history of the league, and Carroll another forward who can defend multiple positions and shoot the 3-ball, the Celtics are naturally developing their own player in this vein.

Jae Crowder has many similarities to Carroll.

“You can see those similarities,” Millsap said. “DeMarre worked his butt off to get where he’s at, and I see Jae Crowder doing the same thing. Similarities with the 3-point shot, great defender.”

But there are other comparisons for coach Brad Stevens’ team, some of them no longer in existence.

Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, the former Celtics assistant, who is coaching the Eastern Conference team tonight, thought back to when he was still playing.

“When you have a balanced team like that, it reminds me of the Detroit Pistons when they had Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Chauncey (Billups), Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun (Prince),” Lue said. “They remind me a lot of that team.”

Just don’t automatically compare them to this record-setting Golden State team.

“I won’t necessarily say (teams) copy what we’re doing, but if you see success, any human being is going to want to duplicate that,” Green said. “I don’t know of many smart people that won’t. This is a copycat game. People were trying to copy the Spurs for years. We tried to copy the Lakers for years, and the Bulls for years. That’s the nature of the game we play.”

Green has heard the Celtics being compared to his team in this way, but he last saw them earlier in the season, before Stevens starting downsizing his lineup with more emphasis on quickness and defensive versatility.

“I saw quite a few of their games — not a ton — and I’m good friends with Jared Sullinger and (David) Lee, and I watch Isaiah Thomas,” said Green. “I think he’s pretty incredible. They’re kind of transitioning that way a little bit, though when I saw them they’ve been using two bigs.”


A nod to Stevens

Coaches and players alike also talk about Stevens. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich went on at length when asked about the Celtics coach.

“Brad looks like he’s 18,” Popovich said. “Before he was even in the NBA I would watch (Butler) games and look at some of the things he did.

“So among basketball people, it was common knowledge that he was a heck of a coach. But to bring that young-looking guy into the NBA and say, ‘OK, you’re going to have to command the respect of these guys’ — that took some courage on Danny (Ainge’s) part. And he did it, and it turned out to be the right choice, because Brad is one of the top coaches in the league. He’s a clinician, he’s a technician, he’s into details.

“It’s how he carries himself. He’s truthful and up front with players, and in this league that’s the biggest thing they respect.”

The biggest question now, though, is how far the Celtics can climb with a lineup that has one elite scorer in Thomas, and others such as Avery Bradley and Evan Turner who have become very good at filling in the gaps.



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