Re: Celtics Hire Brad Stevens as Head Coach

by **worcester** Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:14 pm

Loved that about Scal. Also loved how he inbounded quickly. He had good fundamentals. Too bad his body couldn't do what his head dictated.

by **cowens/oldschool** Fri Jul 05, 2013 1:23 am

sam wrote:W and Bob,

One thing I like about Brad's defensive principles is that I'm sick of hearing about Olynyk's "alligator arms" You don't need "elephant arms" to block out effectively on the defensive boards. There's a popular myth that tall guys are the rebounders. That's not necessarily true, as Rondo has demonstrated on many occasions--and those occasions generally occurred when Celtics bigs were NOT doing a good job of blocking out. One area in which Scal excelled without grabbing a load of rebounds was blocking out.

Sam

agreed Sam theres too much overemphasis on all these stats, with shoes, without.....wasn't like that before, Dave Cowens and Shaq are 2 HoFers that come to mind that didn't have the longest arms, but could just play. Its not the size of the dog, its the fight in the dog.

by **worcester** Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:49 am

Woof. Woof.

by **Sam** Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:30 am

Cow,

The reason they didn't over-use stats in the Russell years was that God hadn't yet invented numbers.

Sam

by **dboss** Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:48 am

Good morning Sam

The length of a basketball players arms may impact their ability to defend and it may impact their ability to rebound.

That is not a statistic but a physical reality.

His short arms should not necessarily prevent him from being a good player but I think it cannot be completely disgarded.

When the season begins it will be interesting to see if we have a rim protector on the active roster. Maybe Melo will get a chance because as of today he is the only legitimate shot blocker on the team.

This is not to impugn Olynyk's overall abilities. My guess is that Stevens will determine who and when certain guys need to be on the floor in certain situations and basically set up senarios where they can be productive.

dboss

by **Sam** Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:38 am

Dboss, please tell me where I said the length of his arms should be "completely disregarded." My remark pertained only to the fact that wingspan is not much of a factor (if any) in BOXING OUT.

Sam

by **worcester** Fri Jul 05, 2013 11:17 am

Biggest physical factor in boxing out is leg strength and butt size, IMHO

by **bobheckler** Fri Jul 05, 2013 11:33 am

This article provides some more insight into Stevens' coaching style, he's very much into analytics. Apparently, so is Danny. That's cool, but this article makes it sound like Doc is not and that's what started that whole thing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--in-nba-s-new-era--celtics--brad-stevens-is-the-changing-face-of-coaches-071340647.html

The NBA no longer embraces the celebrity coaching saviors, the shameless self-promoters, the Armani-wearing, power-thirsty egos that college basketball churned out to sucker owners. Rick Pitino and John Calipari made millions of dollars on NBA hustles, transforming the illusions of emperorships into self-destructive spirals of hubris and humiliation.

Brad Stevens will not come into the Boston Celtics demanding to strip an elderly Red Auerbach of a ceremonial presidential title the way Pitino did. Stevens will never use low-level staffers to disguise themselves as Nets fans calling support for the coach into drive-time talk-radio shows the way Calipari did.

Out of Butler University, out of a Norman Rockwell painting and Norman Dale's gymnasium, Stevens comes to the NBA understanding that the saviors and superstars don't wear wingtips, but Nikes. As NBA owners become more involved in the day-to-day basketball operations, as general managers become far more insistent on controlling personnel and systems, the NBA coach is becoming far less autonomous, far less the franchise's central figure.

In so many ways, Stevens is a vessel for the evolution of the NBA coach. Partnerships over power trips, analytics over the cult of personality, a conduit over a conductor. To reach consecutive NCAA championship games at Butler was an historic accomplishment, but magic March runs don't exist in the NBA – just the dreadful, daily death march that comes with the transition from contender to lottery loser and back again.

Brad Stevens has the disposition to make it through the painful process of NBA rebuilding, and a commitment of six years, $22 million, Yahoo! Sports has learned, gives him a puncher's chance to come out of the inevitable losing and into respectability.

For the Celtics, management no longer wanted to pay a coach $7 million a season to oversee the gutting of the roster, the procuring of prospects and inevitable slide into the lottery. Celtics GM Danny Ainge leans heavily on his analytics staff, and at a meeting with Doc Rivers at season's end, it was suggested Rivers should perhaps incorporate more of those elements into his game plans and preparations, several sources told Y! Sports.

Privately, Rivers winced over the contents of some of the discussion, sources said. There was no confrontation, but there was tension. For Stevens, he's long been immersed in the statistical revolution, and he'll give management far more input into his rotations and style of play. For better or worse, that's the new NBA.

For years, people always talked about the failures of college coaches in the NBA. Yes, there's a path littered with mostly losers, but here's the thing people forget: Whatever the background of the NBA coach – ex-player or ex-student manager, NBA assistant or college hotshot – most are cycled out of jobs within a few short years and never have staying power.

For the Pitinos and Caliparis – great coaches, great minds – it was always the inability to get out of their own ways, to set aside bizarre paranoias, petty jealousies and always, always, impetuous personnel decisions that doomed them.

Brad Stevens should make sure he convinces fast-rising star Jay Larranaga to stay on his Celtics staff and forego a chance to join Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Stevens needs smart minds surrounding him, good drafts replenishing his talent pool and the patience of a boss, Ainge, who has always stood by his coaches and will be fully invested in the success of his bold hire out of Butler University. There are no saviors in the NBA, no geniuses transforming franchises merely by walking through the door.

This is a different day in the NBA, a different league, and the face of the future walks into the most storied franchise of all. Stevens is a terrific basketball mind, a family man, a relentless and resolved grinder of the game. Out of Butler, out of a Norman Rockwell painting and Norman Dale's gymnasium inside the Hinkle Field House, Brad Stevens is the coach of the Boston Celtics.

bob

.

by **bobheckler** Fri Jul 05, 2013 11:34 am

worcester wrote:Biggest physical factor in boxing out is leg strength and butt size, IMHO

worcester,

And ganas. You have to want the ball real bad and get pissed off when you don't get it.

bob

.

by **worcester** Fri Jul 05, 2013 11:56 am

Actually, yes, ganas are the biggest physical asset.

by **Outside** Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:13 pm

Brad Stevens is certainly an interesting hire. We'll see who he hires as assistants.

I like a lot of what I've seen and read about him, but I wish he'd use something other than a pyramid to describe his approach, in deference to a far more notable coach who came up with his own pyramid.

Celtics Hire Brad Stevens as Head Coach - Page 2 John-woodens-pyramid-of-success

Celtics Hire Brad Stevens as Head Coach - Page 2 John-woodens-pyramid-of-success

by **k_j_88** Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:15 pm

Sam,

In regards to boxing out, would Olynyk's penchant for being pushed around become a factor in addition to his wingspan?

It seems to me that he has a few things working against his favor as it pertains to defense. But if he's willing to work hard and work at it then maybe he'll be serviceable in the post.

KJ

by **Sam** Sat Jul 06, 2013 1:38 am

KJ,

The weight room can help Olynyk to keep from being pushed around, whereas his arm length is unlikely to increase by much unless they find a way to put him on the rack. LOL.

Sam

by **bobheckler** Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:50 am

http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/stevens-puts-cs-front-analytics-movement

Stevens puts C's at front of analytics movement
A. Sherrod Blakely
July 5, 2013, 5:45 pm

Brad Stevens' comfort with analytics will position the Celtics at the forefront of the data-driven movement.

WALTHAM, MA -- Brad Stevens looks more like a college professor - make that college grad assistant - than he does a basketball coach, let alone an NBA head coach.

To be at the pinnacle of the coaching profession at the youthful age of 36, speaks to how he has fast-tracked his way up the coaching rungs where he now stands as the Boston Celtics' head coach.

And his success is about using any and all tools at his disposal.

Among his favorites?

Numbers.

Stevens' unprecedented success at Butler University - he won more games in his first six seasons than any coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball history - was in part to his use of advanced statistics better known by its more general description as analytics.

While analytics have been a part of more than half of the teams in the NBA, college programs have gradually phased it into their game preparation and scouting.

Stevens took it a step further in hiring a graduate manager whose sole responsibility was to gather as much analytical data, such as the shooting percentage of certain players driving the ball to their left versus to their right, or the likely best matchups at different intervals during a game which helps in terms of figuring out which combinations to play.

"At the end of the day, anything that can help you be successful or help a player be successful, get the most out of them, I think is a really good thing," Stevens told CSNNE.com on Friday. "I don't know if I consciously embraced it. That's just kind of how my mind works. I really enjoy that side of things."

So do the Celtics, one of the first NBA teams to incorporate the use of analytics on a relatively wide scale basis.

Mike Zarren, the C's assistant general manager, salary cap expert and huge fan and user of analytics, understands all too well that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to the use of analytics.

"It varies drastically by staff, how important those things are," Zarren told CSNNE.com. "But there's clearly information that you can get that wasn't available previously so we try to get it."

And it has worked both on the floor as well as in helping the C's in preparing for various drafts.

The use of analytics was part of what into the Celtics having Rajon Rondo rated among the top seven or eight prospects in the 2006 NBA draft, although most mock drafts and experts had him ranked significantly lower.

Boston pulled off a draft-night trade for Rondo with Phoenix, which selected him with the No. 21 pick.

Rondo has been named to four all-star teams, more than any other player from his draft class.

Stevens has talked with Zarren about analytics briefly, and said he's "stoked" to have more in-depth discussions in the near future.

While Zarren understands the value of analytics, the hiring of Stevens was about more than his ability to make the most of some crunched-up numbers.

"The most important thing is if he's a good coach," Zarren said. "He's just been so successful, it's hard to argue with his success. I'm glad he wants to look at every piece of information he can get his hands off."

bob

.

by **bobheckler** Sat Jul 06, 2013 1:32 pm

Doc endeared himself to his players by being a straight shooter and being loyal to them.

This act suggests that Brad Stevens has the same character, and that's good for us.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/brad-stevens-caps-whirlwind-week-fulfilling-promise-ex-162003194.html

Brad Stevens caps whirlwind week by fulfilling a promise to an ex-Butler star
By Jeff Eisenberg | The Dagger – 1 hour 8 minutes ago

Brad Stevens

At the end of what had to be the most exhilarating yet draining week of his coaching career, new Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens still had one final commitment to fulfill.

He flew from Boston to Connersville, Ind. to ride in the town's bicentennial parade Saturday morning with ex-Butler star Matt Howard.

Stan Howard, Matt's father, told the Indianapolis Star he originally asked Stevens to appear in the parade last summer He expected Stevens to renege on the commitment after the Celtics hired him on Wednesday, but the coach sent word via Matt that he planned to make good on his promise.

“There’s one side of me that was like, there’s no possible way he’ll be able to make it,” Stan told the Star. “But there’s another side, the side that knows Brad Stevens. If you’re loyal to him, he is loyal to you. Part of me just said, ‘That dude’s going to find a way to get here!’

“It speaks volumes of the man. And it means the world to me.”

It indeed is a testament to Stevens' integrity that he would spend the day after his introductory press conference in Boston signing autographs and waving at fans in Connersville.

Stevens may no longer be the coach at Butler, but it's clear he still treasures the time he spent at the school.

bob

.

by **gyso** Fri Jul 12, 2013 9:14 am

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens made the two-hour trek down from Indianapolis on Thursday for his first face-to-face meeting with his All-Star point guard at Rondo's annual basketball camp in Louisville.

Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com wrote:Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said last week he was eager to meet up with point guard Rajon Rondo and hinted it was at the top of his to-do list after a stop at the Orlando Summer League. True to his word, Stevens made the two-hour trek down from Indianapolis on Thursday for his first face-to-face meeting with his All-Star point guard at Rondo's annual basketball camp in Louisville.

After meeting many of Rondo's teammates since being officially introduced as coach last week, Stevens spoke to the attendees at Camp Rondo and got a chance to chat with his point guard.

"[Meeting Rondo] was great. What an insightful, intelligent, neat person to sit down with," Stevens said during an on-camera interview with WDRB Fox 41 in Louisville. "I’ve got a chance to meet a lot of his teammates because we were down at the summer league and some guys would come by, so it’s been great to meet him and the other teammates. I think it’s been a really good situation thus far. It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind for me."

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has stressed that he has no intentions of trading Rondo this offseason and, asked at Rondo's camp if he desired to have Rondo playing for him next season, Stevens added, "No question. Yeah, absolutely. And he is obviously one of the best point guards in the league and has been one of the best performers over the last ... seven years. He’s had a terrific young career and I can’t wait to get working with him."

In the seven days since he was formally introduced as the 17th head coach of the Celtics, Stevens has met with nearly all of the returning members of the Celtics' core, including Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Courtney Lee and Brandon Bass. Being around the summer squad also allowed him to meet younger players like Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo, Kelly Olynyk and Colton Iverson, along with roster hopefuls like Phil Pressey.

As Stevens noted, it's certainly been a "whirlwind" first week on the job, but clearly he has accomplished his primary goal of starting to build relationships with his players.

Last week, Stevens stressed his excitement to meet Rondo.

"I can't wait to sit down with him," said Stevens. "Because he's not only a really good basketball player, he's really intelligent, and you can see that in his game. And I think he's got that, not only an intelligence about the way he plays, but also an instinctive ability to see the next play coming. You can see that on both ends of the floor.

"Combine that with a good competitive spirit, and you've really got what he's been, and that's a really, really good player, one of the best players in this league. I can't wait to meet him. I can't wait to spend time with him. I hope that he can feel like, at the end of the day, he's learned a thing or two from me, but I'm guessing I'll learn a lot more from him."

Celtics Hire Brad Stevens as Head Coach - Page 2 Rondo_10

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4706049/stevens-visits-rondos-camp

gyso

by Sponsored content