Thank you, Brad Stevens, For Expressing How Celtics’ Fans Feel After Loss

gyso wrote:I do not agree, top to bottom.  Pointing blame at the coach in this situation is a waste of time. It is an easy and lazy cop out.  It is something I would expect from the media, but not from you, a knowledgeable and long time fan of the game.

If anyone listened to Jeff Van Gundy pre game, he said it best.  The Celtics have not been able to start and play with their best lineup any more than a couple games in a row, at best.  He expects more of the same until everyone is back and available over time.  

Our Sam had a word for this, Continuity.

And when was the last time a captain of industry failed and then fell on his own sword?  They fail and give themselves and others around them million dollar bonuses.  Worse case, they get the golden parachute and then go on to pillage another company.

I think Sean T. McGuire is the Malarkey peddler in this case and you mistakenly bought into his foolishness.

bobheckler wrote:I have no idea what Brad does or does not say in the locker room and I have no idea how he says it.  He claims he speaks differently to the players than he does to the media, and that is appropriate.  What happens in the locker room should stay in the locker room.  If I have a bitch with Brad it's that he doesn't work the refs enough.  When Tommy passed Brad said that he's going to need to step up in that area because he could no longer count on Tommy doing it for him.  Well...?

Aside from whatever calls you may or may not be able to swindle from the refs it's good for team morale.  They see you fighting as hard as them.  Sometimes getting ejected is the right thing for a head coach to do, and he should do it intentionally.

Other than that, what?

1.  Brad's offense is about driving to get at least one foot in the paint and then kicking to a shooter if/when the defense collapses.  We didn't do that in the 1st half, and we got long shots that had defenders nearby because they weren't being forced to move.  We started doing it in the 2nd half and we became productive.  In other words, when the players started playing Brad's offense our offense improved.  We shot 3-12 from the arc in the 1st and 4-24 from 3 at halftime, for a 1-12 2nd quarter from 3.  In the 2nd half we saw Kemba and Tatum driving the ball more.  Getting to the rim.  Tatum would hit or miss, Kemba would hit or get blocked but they were collapsing the defense.  Our 3rd quarter showed us 7-35 from 3, a 3-11 3rd quarter and then a 4-12 4th.  Still shitty numbers, we know that, but an improvement from 4-24 and I trace that improvement to the players playing Brad Ball.  Drive the ball, get at least one foot touching the paint and then choose to finish or kick.

2.  Our bigs last night were two players that are 3rd and 4th on the depth chart and brand new to the Celtics and Brad's system and our players.  As GYSO pointed out Sam always talked about chemistry and continuity and we had none of that going for us last night with our bigs.  Not their fault, maybe they could have been more aggressive, but otherwise they were thrown into the deep end of the pool.  You can't take players that are barely rotation players at this point of their careers, dump them into a new system and expect them to perform like starters in a week.  Look how long it took RWill to play like a solid rotation player.  Years, and all of that time was in a single system with the same coaching staff chirping the same stuff in his ears and playing with many of the same players, and it still took years.


Bob


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gyso wrote:" . . . we really need to get healthy."  True.

" . . . effort should be the one thing that is consistent."  Also true.  That's on Brad?  No.  That's on the players.  Our youth is showing?

Sit the players every time there seems to be lack of effort?  IMO, that is a stick to use sparingly.

Yell at the refs and get thrown out?  IMO, Yes.  While that is a stick to use sparingly as well, it has to be used.  The players will often respond to that in a positive manner.