Inside Brad Stevens’ First Winning Month in the NBA

http://redsarmy.com/2015/03/01/inside-brad-stevens-first-winning-month-in-the-nba/



Inside Brad Stevens’ first winning month in the NBA
John - Red's Army (@RedsArmy_John)March 1, 2015Brad Stevens, Celtics News, Isaiah Thomas3 Comments









February is now over, and as Boston bids good riddance to the blizzardy bastard that February was, the Celtics are probably wishing it had a few more days.  Here’s a quick look at Brad Stevens most successful month as an NBA head coach.

The Celtics went 7-4 in February, giving Brad Stevens his first ever winning month as an NBA head coach.  Only 7 NBA teams had better months percentage-wise, and only 3 had more wins than Boston.  Here’s how February shook out for the NBA:


Team----------------------Wins---------Losses---------Win%
Indiana--------------------7-------------2---------------0.778
Oklahoma City------------9-------------3---------------0.750
Golden State--------------8-------------3---------------0.727
Cleveland------------------8-------------3---------------0.727
Chicago--------------------7-------------3---------------0.700
Houston--------------------7-------------3---------------0.700
Portland--------------------6-------------3---------------0.667
Atlanta---------------------7-------------4---------------0.636
Boston--------------------7-------------4---------------0.636
Memphis-------------------7-------------4----------------0.636
Dallas----------------------7-------------5----------------0.583
Milwaukee-----------------7-------------5----------------0.583
Brooklyn-------------------6-------------5----------------0.545
San Antonio----------------6------------5-----------------0.545
New Orleans---------------6------------5-----------------0.545
Utah------------------------6------------5-----------------0.545
Detroit---------------------5------------6------------------0.455
LA Clippers----------------5------------6------------------0.455
Minnesota-----------------5------------6------------------0.455
Miami----------------------5------------7------------------0.417
Orlando--------------------4------------6------------------0.400
Toronto--------------------4------------7------------------0.364
Charlotte------------------3------------6-------------------0.333
LA Lakers-----------------3-------------7------------------0.300
Sacramento---------------3------------7-------------------0.300
Philadelphia---------------3------------7-------------------0.300
Phoenix--------------------3------------8-------------------0.273
New York------------------3------------8------------------0.273
Washington----------------3------------9------------------0.250
Denver---------------------1------------9------------------0.100


Nice to see the Celtics at the top of at least some kind of standings this year, isn’t it?

Sure, the 7-4 month was fueled in large part by wins against bad teams. Charlotte, New York (twice), Philadelphia, and Denver, all have losing records, but wins against Phoenix and Atlanta were quite fun.

For the first time this season, the Celtics held their opponents to less than 100 points per game (99.0) while they averaged 102.2.
The team put up 89.8 shots per game, its highest single-month total not only of the year, but of the Brad Stevens era so far.

Of those 89.8 shots, 28 came from beyond the arc, also the highest of any month under Brad Stevens.  The Celtics shot 42.5% from the field, 33.9% from 3.

Isaiah Thomas made the biggest instant impact, averaging 22.3 points over 4 games, to go along with 6 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Thomas shot 39.3% (34.5% from 3). His TS% is 58.2. His current PER with the Celtics is 23.5.

Will it last? Can it last? Tonight’s a real big test because the Celtics get to run-and-gun against Golden State. However it goes, February shows true growth for this team, and some excitement down the stretch of what was supposed to be a “lost” season.



bob
MY NOTE:  Nice to see but not really revealing without knowing the winning % of the teams everybody played against.  For example, if the Lakers played all their games against playoff teams in the very tough WC then winning 3 would be a big moral victory.  Nevertheless, a win is a win is a win and congrats to Brad on his first winning month.  Are we turning the corner?  Ask Brad how he feels today...


.

It's a very long corner to be turned.  You don't accomplish it in a month.  Today's game with the Warriors offered some positive insights but also reinforced how limiting the Celtics' strengths are.  They have a formula for winning predicated largely on pace and small ball, and it's pretty much the only way they can win.  If the other team finds a way to address that formula, the Celtics are in trouble.

But the fact that they do possess a winning formula is a step in the right direction and will hopefully be joined by other such formulas as they add needed talent.

Sam