As Celtics unravel vs. Heat, Brad Stevens missteps loom large

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/05/as-celtics-unravel-vs-heat-brad-stevens-missteps-loom-large-robb.html



As Celtics unravel vs. Heat, Brad Stevens missteps loom large


Updated: May. 22, 2023, 9:55 a.m.|Published: May. 22, 2023, 6:15 a.m.


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



MIAMI — Make no mistake: Brad Stevens and the Celtics were put into a very tough position at the beginning of the season after the abrupt indefinite suspension of Ime Udoka.

Faced with finding a team with title aspirations a new coach days before training camp, Stevens turned to an internal candidate in 34-year-old Joe Mazzulla to fill in for Udoka. Beyond adding an inexperienced head coach in an interim role, bigger questions always loomed about other choices for Boston’s bench. To start, the Celtics never found a replacement for what would have been Mazzulla’s (and Will Hardy’s) assistant spot on the bench. They also never brought anyone aboard once Damon Stoudamire landed a head coaching job at Georgia Tech in March.


While Mazzulla saw regular-season success with Boston thanks in large part to one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, the road was full of rocky moments. Late game mismanagement and bizarre rotation decisions (Grant Williams) kept rising to the surface despite the team’s record and those choices became magnified on the playoff stage in the first two rounds as ugly losses piled up thanks in part to Mazzulla miscues.

Ultimately, the Celtics players were able to overcome enough of those missteps to land in the Eastern Conference Finals but they looked like a team without answers in an embarrassing Game 3 loss to the Heat on Sunday night.

With the 3-point shots not falling, the Celtics’ offense has looked rudderless, making the same mistakes over and over. Defensively, Boston’s lost its identity when it matters most. From a coaching standpoint, the Celtics look overmatched in this series.


This entire situation is clearly not on Mazzulla but it’s very fair to wonder how much better he would be in the spot if he had a few more experienced names around him on the bench or if the team had a more proven coach entirely. Stevens not putting those pieces in place at the beginning or middle of the season is a mark against him.

Mazzulla’s future is very much a question mark with the organization based on how this series has unfolded and how the likes of Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown have answered questions about him during this playoff run. A coach learning on the job for a team with title aspirations that have struggled in close games for years with this core is clearly not a recipe for success in the playoffs. In this series, it’s seemingly created a hill that’s too high for this Celtics group to climb, causing the players to shockingly throw in the towel in the second half of Game 3 as things fell apart on both ends of the floor.

The Celtics’ window for contention won’t end with this season but some of their most important weapons aren’t going to be getting any better. Al Horford looks very old all of a sudden and adding to the roster will only get more challenging with the CBA amid a bloated payroll. A golden opportunity is slipping away for Boston and it’s fair to wonder whether the necessary pieces of the puzzle were in place to maximize this group.


Bob


.

Yes Bob. Brad definitely left Joe short-handed when it came to coaching assistants. But think of how much money he saved.

I think Worcester is on to something here. Going into the season, our assistant coaching ranks (mostly Ime guys) were decimated. After the Mazzulla hiring, the very next move should have been hiring a veteran coach as an associate coach (not assistant) like Thibs was for Doc.

That would have cost some money, but there isn't a cap for this, so pay away!

I am not a Joe fan, but he did a very good job for the circumstance he was in. Not good enough, but then, he really had few resources upon which to lean. Brad and Wyc really mismanaged the team, and Joe alone is reaping the whirlwind. I still want him replaced, but at least he'll have three more years of salary as solace.

Riley has out GM’ed Brad as easily as Spolstra has outcoached Joe. They have a whole culture over there and it all starts with Riley. They play above the sum of their parts and we whine after every call, like we’re entitled. How about outworking the opponent? I’m seeing 38 year old Lebron taking it end to end and getting way more finishes than Jaylen. The Heat have excellent transition defense, we whine and whine and give away baskets. I better stop now….

Again, everyone.  Eyes off the coaches.  They don't win game, players executing what they tell them to do helps, but the players have to do it exactly.  Miami is an 8th seed for a reason.  Pendulum swinging back around the mean is coming.  Either it starts tonight or will show glaringly in the Finals.  I'd prefer we push that button and embarrass this jackleg Heat organization.

Didn't we execute the Memorial Day Massacre? Flip that. What did the Lakers do after that? Oh yeah, I remember. THEY WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP.   

db

dbrown,

You wrote, "Miami is an 8th seed for a reason." What do you mean by that? You are your record?

Miami is 8th seed because of injuries to many players during the regular season. During the season, they played other players in order to get by. Those other players are stronger for it and make the Heat a better team than their record would suggest.

There's always an exception, and this is a good example of such.

This is all the ownership of the Boston Celtics, here they are:

The executive committee consists of the four members of the managing board, Wyc Grousbeck, H. Irving Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca and The Abbey Group, represented by Robert Epstein with the additions of Paul Edgerley, Glenn Hutchins and James Pallotta. Other new key additions include Matt Levin, managing director, Bain Capital partners.

Boston Basketball Partners’ list of founding investors includes:

Richard H. Aldrich, senior vice president and chief business officer, RA Capital Associates
David Bonderman, managing director, Texas Pacific Group
James Breyer, general partner, Accel Partners
James I. Cash, Jr., professor and senior associate dean, Harvard Business School
John Connaughton, co-managing partner of Bain Capital
Paul Edgerley, senior advisor, Bain Capital
William P. Egan, general partner, Alta Communications
William Helman, general partner, Greylock Partners
Glenn Hutchins, a founder and managing member of Silver Lake Partners
Jonathan Lavine, co-managing partner of Bain Capital
Stephen R. Lewinstein, president, Stephen R. Lewinstein Associates
Stephen J. Luczo, chairman and CEO, Seagate Technology
Michael Marks, chairman and CEO, Flextronics International
James Pallotta, a managing director of Tudor Investment Corporation and head of Tudor’s U.S. Equity Securities Group
David Roux, founder, Silver Lake Partners
Mark Wan, partner, Three Arch Partners

Now this very rich and well entrenched group of businessmen never questioned Brad,  a rookie President of basket ball operations who never served on the administrative side of the ball?

Any experienced businessman would first hear Brads recommendation for head coach, then ask Brad to select the top 3 0r 4 alternatives to Joe and start an indeph interview process, followed by a board meeting of members and a vote.

I highly dought that occurred. It semmed that they were looking for a quick disposal of the body and burriel of IME. They acted scared.

WHY? What's the rush? It was as though they were trying to cover up a crime scene.  There was no crime, IME F'ed up and he paid the price of a very sensative incident that could have been blown sky high if the accuser cried SEXUAL HARRASMENT and sued!

That being said, WYC did not handle the transition into a new coach very well as lead investor. He acted more like a sophmoric business man if you want my opinion.  What was done was done by IME's act, and business is business and a vacancy had to be filled.

I think both WYC and Brad need some explaining to do in a open press conference to the season ticket holders and the paying fans who attend games like my self this pass season.


112288

You want to add a a fox hole kind of leader that the Celtics team needs desperately?

Grant Williams is a wantabe, go get the real deal and Go get Draymond Green!

Player option this year, free agent coming up next year.

112288

112288 wrote:You want to add a a fox hole kind of leader that the Celtics team needs desperatley?

Grant Williams is a wantabe, go get the real deal and Go get Draymond Green!

Player option this year, free agent coming up next year.

112288

We'll have to run that one past ktron.

GYSO

Interesting idea? Who else comes to mind to put a spine on this team verses spineless
invertebrates.

Let see what our team resembles currently - jellyfish, slugs, snails, octopuses, crabs, shrimps, spiders, butterflies, beetles, flatworms, tapeworms, siphunculids, sea-mats and ticks.

112288

112288 wrote:GYSO

Interesting idea?    Who else comes to mind to put a spine on this team verses spineless
invertebrates.

Let see what our team resembles currently - jellyfish, slugs, snails, octopuses, crabs, shrimps, spiders, butterflies, beetles, flatworms, tapeworms, siphunculids, sea-mats and ticks.

112288

Some of those critters don't need a spine, they got an exoskeleton.  Pound for pound, much stronger.  

I don't think them missing a spine is the issue.  They are still hurt and confused about Ime's "Crime" vs the resulting "Punishment".  If he can coach there, why can't he coach here?

It's all in the head when your feelings get hurt.  

It is the beginning of the Age of Feelings, or feels.  God protect us!

Well said GYSO.  

Although, I do believe it was serious enough to warrent a firing. A woman sexually harressed, perhaps pressered into the relationship by a fellow emplyee of the company is really serious in the eyes of the law. It could take down the whole oragization that could cost $ Billions!

I have seen this before, especially after the OJ case with legal friends representing both plaintiffs and defendents, it is really really sensative and in the eyes of the court/jury it will always be tilted in the favor of the woman.

Players should have been briefed by the Celtics corporate council and show if things went bad what could happen the the organization if ownership actions was not taken. That should have been done, but Ownership chose to be silent! Why?

112288

112288 wrote:This is all the ownership of the Boston Celtics, here they are:

The executive committee consists of the four members of the managing board, Wyc Grousbeck, H. Irving Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca and The Abbey Group, represented by Robert Epstein with the additions of Paul Edgerley, Glenn Hutchins and James Pallotta. Other new key additions include Matt Levin, managing director, Bain Capital partners.

Boston Basketball Partners’ list of founding investors includes:

Richard H. Aldrich, senior vice president and chief business officer, RA Capital Associates
David Bonderman, managing director, Texas Pacific Group
James Breyer, general partner, Accel Partners
James I. Cash, Jr., professor and senior associate dean, Harvard Business School
John Connaughton, co-managing partner of Bain Capital
Paul Edgerley, senior advisor, Bain Capital
William P. Egan, general partner, Alta Communications
William Helman, general partner, Greylock Partners
Glenn Hutchins, a founder and managing member of Silver Lake Partners
Jonathan Lavine, co-managing partner of Bain Capital
Stephen R. Lewinstein, president, Stephen R. Lewinstein Associates
Stephen J. Luczo, chairman and CEO, Seagate Technology
Michael Marks, chairman and CEO, Flextronics International
James Pallotta, a managing director of Tudor Investment Corporation and head of Tudor’s U.S. Equity Securities Group
David Roux, founder, Silver Lake Partners
Mark Wan, partner, Three Arch Partners

Now this very rich and well entrenched group of businessmen never questioned Brad,  a rookie President of basket ball operations who never served on the administrative side of the ball?

Any experienced businessman would first hear Brads recommendation for head coach, then ask Brad to select the top 3 0r 4 alternatives to Joe and start an indeph interview process, followed by a board meeting of members and a vote.

I highly dought that occurred. It semmed that they were looking for a quick disposal of the body and burriel of IME. They acted scared.

WHY? What's the rush? It was as though they were trying to cover up a crime scene.  There was no crime, IME F'ed up and he paid the price of a very sensative incident that could have been blown sky high if the accuser cried SEXUAL HARRASMENT and sued!

That being said, WYC did not handle the transition into a new coach very well as lead investor. He acted more like a sophmoric business man if you want my opinion.  What was done was done by IME's act, and business is business and a vacancy had to be filled.

I think both WYC and Brad need some explaining to do in a open press conference to the season ticket holders and the paying fans who attend games like my self this pass season.


112288

OMG..Bain Capital! Romney’s former baby. Now some of whats going on makes Cent$ (not a pun).
They’re one of 2 PE firm that bought Iheart Media, then known as Clear Channel and then gutted it.

Ktron

You want to add a a fox hole kind of leader that the Celtics team needs desperately?

Grant Williams is a wantabe, go get the real deal and Go get Draymond Green!

What do you think.

112288

I wanted to get a sense of who owned the Celtics and who and what influenced Wyc's decisions. I came upon this article on how Joe Mazzulla got chosen to be coach:
https://sports.yahoo.com/wyc-grousbeck-celtics-came-select-194428258.html

I did not consider that to be adequate due diligence, and I still don't understand why the Celts did not hire enough assistant coaches for Joe.

I also Googled everyone on the Celtics' list of 16 founding investors and was struck by how rich, how very rich each damn one of them was, except perhaps for James I. Cash, who is quite wealthy but maybe not as insanely rich, rich as the others. He's also the only African-American in the group of 16 founding investors plus the Grousbeck's.

I was amazed to find out that James Cash lives in my town Sarasota, and the following article from Sarasota magazine really impressed me - to the core. He is a great human being, and the Celts are lucky to have him in their ranks.

https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/news-and-profiles/2020/12/boston-celtics-james-cash-on-breaking-barriers