Practice: Something Special About Stevens

I don't think they were playing selfish, they just weren't executing and were still learning how to play off of one another on offense and defense. I just think Wallace was frustrated at the time because they were on a losing streak.



KJ

Brad Stevens and Red Auerbach are/were very different types of coaches (to say the least).  Red was fiery, whereas Brad is restrained. Red would celebrate (I heard that, when he died, the bottom fell out of the Cuban Stock Market), whereas Brad believes in not getting too high or too low.  Red would hammer some players and coddle others, whereas Brad seems to exercise reason with all his players.

But they both had (have) two things in common:

1. They tailored their approaches to the strengths of themselves and of the players, taking advantage of existing talents and encouraging improvement when warranted.

2. Regardless of how things were (are) going, they never, never, never took (take) their eyes off the road ahead.  The word that immediately comes to mind is "persistent," although "irrepressible," "indefatigable," "resolute" and "relentless" would also work.

I happen to believe that the latter talent was the number one reason why Red's teams continued to persevere and win titles year after year after year with scarcely a misstep.  I also believe that, given the right player mix, Brad's teams could pull off something similar.  

Based on their coach's reaction to their loss to the Celtics, it seems that the Heat players are prone to losing focus after one good season and a "Thanks Ray" season.  That would never happen to Red's and Brad's teams.

Go Celtics!

Sam

A team laden with inflated egos is certainly at risk of under-performing.

But I've always viewed Miami as a very flawed team. They just have the talent to make up for it.




KJ

KJ,

I agree that egos can ruin a talented team, but saying Miami is a flawed team with the talent to make up for it sells them short.

LeBron has turned from a great player who disappears in the fourth quarter to unarguably the best player on the planet and a clutch performer. Spoelstra doesn't get the credit he deserves for defusing the ego issues and making a cohesive unit from a flawed roster without a significant post presence at either end. Although they haven't done it so far this year, their title runs have been based on playing excellent team defense.

I root for them to lose, I despise Wade because he's a dirty, arrogant, entitled jerk, I'll always hold the "not two, not three, not four..." celebration against LeBron, and I don't want to see the colluding attempts of stars to win titles rewarded. But LeBron, Spoelstra, and their defense deserve respect.

Back on the original topic of the thread, Stevens has so far shown that he's earned the respect of his team and has the capability to create a team that is more than the sum of its parts. It's ridiculously early to make any definitive assessment, but he's off to a great start and showing that he's the right coach for the rebuilding process.

It will be interesting to see how Stevens handles a roster with multiple superstar egos, but if Ainge can get the roster to that point down the road, building a culture of selfless play and the primacy of team play will be more than half the battle.

Outside

Not sure there is a bigger ego in the NBA than our little diminutive injured point guard. Although he has not played............(and that might be a very big blessing in the long run) he has gotten to see what has worked on the court and more importantly what hasn't.

It appears that Stevens has got Rondo ego in check and the guy hasn't even played 1 minute for him.

beat

Rondo probably has somewhat of an ego, but not as much as what the media blew it up to be. It was really an attempt at character assassination on their part.



KJ

"somewhat" is being way to kind

beat

Hi,
It'd be really interesting how BrSt handles RR's re-insertion into the current system.
Also, how Rondo goes about it.
Both have kind of warm-up in the form of RR sitting on the bench and very actively participating in every game.

AK

I have been one of Rondo's harshest critics as I felt he sometimes sabotaged the team by playing for his stats rather than for the team, and by walking the ball up the court, pounding the ball forever at the top of the key, never staying in front of his man, etc.

If Stevens can bring him on board and get him with the program, than Stevens should be awarded coach of the year honors and Rondo, considering his talent, could at least be in the running for MVP.

beat wrote:Outside

Not sure there is a bigger ego in the NBA than our little diminutive injured point guard.

Beat,

I specifically worded that part of my post to talk about Stevens dealing with multiple superstar egos because, like you, I think he already has to deal with one.