Same approach, different routes for Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2018/03/bulpett_same_approach_different_routes_for_steve_kerr_and_brad_stevens




Bulpett: Same approach, different routes for Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens



Steve Bulpett Sunday, March 18, 2018




Golden State coach Steve Kerr was talking with the Herald recently about the similarities between him and Celtics counterpart Brad Stevens. At that point, he did not realize they would soon also be leading heavily wounded rosters.

While the Celts have been without the likes of Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis and, of course, Gordon Hayward, the Warriors went to work without Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and David West on Wednesday.

But Stevens and Kerr weathered the storms with a steady hand, communicating to their troops that they were still expected to play hard and win, but also adding appropriate levity to hard basketball times.

Kerr thinks their demeanors, on the sideline and elsewhere, are quite similar.

“I think so,” he said. “It wears well over time. I think guys like Brad are going to be able to coach for a long time. I hope I can say the same thing about me.

“Danny’s got his brain doctor, (Jon) Niednagel? I’ll bet you Brad and I have the same brain type. I think the quiet sort of listen-first brain lends itself well to coaching. I believe that.”

Ainge laughed when told of the remark, but then he noted it wasn’t totally off base.

“They’re close,” the Celtics president of basketball operations said. “They’re different, but it’s close.”

While Kerr is more prone to smile and kid on the sideline, Stevens is a bit more stoic.

“He’s got a great sideline demeanor. He’s very poised,” Kerr said. “And he’s obviously very sharp. You know, they run good stuff — on both sides of the ball.

“They do some things defensively that a lot of teams don’t do. They always seem to find a good shot in key situations. But I think it’s just the culture that they’ve established. You can see it. Everybody is poised and seemingly happy. He’s just got a really good way about him.”

And Kerr acknowledged that the move to an NBA bench and orientation with the players was more difficult for Stevens, who came straight from the college game without ever spending a day in the NBA.

“I think so,” said Kerr, who’s won two titles as a coach and five as a player with Chicago and San Antonio. “It’s probably harder than, say, my path, having played in the league and done TV. I was kind of known as an NBA guy. My players knew who I was or watched me play or whatever, so I had an advantage.”

Or they read about him in history books.

“Well, they had seen me play when they were 5,” Kerr said with a smile. “Let’s put it that way.”

Added Kerr: “It is an advantage to be in the NBA. I think it’s harder to come from college. That’s my guess. It would be harder, more difficult. You’re probably put to the test a little bit more. People probably want to know, ‘Do you know what you’re doing at this level?’ Because it is a different game. It’s a totally different game from college.

“But that’s part of Brad’s brilliance is that he’s 100 percent comfortable in his own skin and confident in his abilities. I can see that not only in the way he handles himself but in the way his players respond to him.”

Doc Rivers, who preceded Stevens on the Celtics bench, dipped into that part of the discussion.

“I think Brad’s done an amazing job,” he said. “Someone asked, you know, he had a name, but not this huge name coming into the league, and do you need that? My answer was, no, I think that’s the biggest fallacy in the world.

“The players just want to know if you know. And after about a week, they know if you know. And if they think you know, they’ll follow you. If they think you don’t know, they won’t follow you. And Brad has proven he knows.”


This week’s C’s timeline

Today, at New Orleans, 6 p.m. — The Pelicans have been warm of late, with Anthony Davis turning in brilliant performances to make up for the loss of DeMarcus Cousins. New Orleans will be going for the series sweep against the C’s, having taken them down in OT in the Celtics’ first game back home from London. It was the first of four straight losses for the Shamrocks, who gave up 45 points to Davis that night.

Tuesday, vs. Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. — The Celtics came back from 18 down to beat the thunder by seven in OKC back in November. Kyrie Irving outscored Russell Westbrook, 25-11, and the C’s outscored their hosts by 25 in the second half. In other words, the visiting team in this one might be playing with a bit of a chip on its collective shoulder.

Friday at Portland, 10 p.m. — The Trail Blazers have been blazing since shortly after Al Horford beat them with a last second 20-footer in the Garden on Feb. 4. Portland took an 11-game winning streak into last night’s game against the Pistons. Look for a good battle here — and some good quotes out of former Celtic Evan Turner.


EARLY CELT LEEDE MADE HIS MARK

A big thanks to Herald colleague John Connolly for giving us the heads-up on the passing of former Celtics swingman Edward Leede.

You may not recognize the name because he played before the glory years, putting in two seasons with the Celts from 1949 to ’51. But he lived an extraordinary life before his passing at age 90 on Feb. 24 in Denver.

Leede served in the United States Marine Corps and earned a chemistry degree at Dartmouth, where he was the school’s first 1,000-point scorer and where the arena now bears his name.

The 6-foot-3 swingman averaged 7.8 points for the Celtics over his two years, with his 8.9 as a rookie ranking fourth on the club behind Bob Kinney’s 11.1. Bob Cousy and Ed Macauley (and new coach Red Auerbach) joined the C’s the next year, and Leede left after that 39-30 campaign.

But he’d earned enough money to move on to the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Leede then went into the oil and gas industry, moving to Texas and finally to Colorado. Along the way, he became a competitive tennis player and golfer.

Leede is survived by his wife of 62 years, Margaret, and five children.



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