HOLY COW, BUTLER JUST MADE THE NBA PLAYOFFS — WAIT, THAT’S JUST THE CELTICS

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/celtics-brad-stevens-bringing-college-approach-to-nba/




HOLY COW, BUTLER JUST MADE THE NBA PLAYOFFS — WAIT, THAT’S JUST THE CELTICS




Henry McKenna 9:24 pm, April 14th, 2015







The Boston Celtics just entered what many consider playoff hell.

They’ve clinched the seven-seed in the NBA’s East, which is one of the least desirable position in the NBA. They’re out of the lottery, yet effectively out of the playoffs.

Celtics, Avery Bradley top Lebron-led Cavaliers in Game 7. Raise your hand if you see that coming. God dammit Bill Simmons, put your hand down.

The Knicks and 76ers couldn’t think of a fate worse than the Celtics’. But for the Celtics team — which boasts talent not greatly superior to New York and Philly — it’s the best possible fate. The C’s could have tanked, and followed the 76ers’ lead. But how has that worked out for them? They’d be two ships seeing who could hit the bottom of the ocean first. And if you’ve seen Pacific Rim, then you’d know (spoiler alert) the ocean is pretty deep, like alternate-universe deep.


Brad Stevens doesn’t want to play monopoly (with draft assets) while everyone else is playing basketball. For Stevens — a guy does nothing but think about basketball — it has always been like that. He picked Marcus Smart because the kid loves to play basketball and seems to pride himself on bringing nut-punching intensity while playing harder than everyone else on the hardwood. Stevens traded for Jae Crowder, a guy who seems to think of the NBA as a job and takes pride in it.

The Celtics look like the Butler of the NBA, as Stevens is bringing college basketball to the NBA. As a result, he is the most valuable asset on the team, and he’s going to win games. He brings the little brother Butler attitude like every day is March Madness — and it’s becoming fun to watch.

Though it took him a while, general manager Danny Ainge has come around to that idea. Remember in 2013 when the Celtics had a “big four,” which Ainge proceeded to quarter? Boston’s pain tolerance is low — very low — so for them, it was torture. This season, Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green were sent off for draft assets. Players like Nate Robinson and Brandan Wright ended up the Celtics knowing they wouldn’t be there for more than two weeks. The Celtics were a thrift shop after a visit from Macklemore.

Ainge was probably like, “Hey Brad, you can take the rest of the season off. Or, at least let up a bit.”

Stevens: (Silence, wins a game)


Ainge: “No, really stop, ya dummy.”

Stevens: (Silence, wins a game)


And then, perhaps luckily for Stevens, Isaiah Thomas was available. Thomas is a player Ainge has long-coveted in a contract that provides great value. And it would have been foolish to let the opportunity to acquire him slip. Trading for him meant they had to shut him down or play him.

Ainge: “Ah, the heck with it. Let’s do this. I’m buyin’ in.”

And thus, the Boston Celtics turned into the Butler Bulldogs. And it was good — for the NBA.

(Editorial admission of guilt: the Vines above were post-Thomas trade. But you get the idea.)

It’s sad that college basketball is congruous with trying to win a championship this year, because all levels of a sport should be about “winning now,” and anyone who says otherwise coaches little league. The scrappy but savvy play that Stevens has brought to this Celtics roster is admirable, and the desperation and passion the exhibit stinks of March Madness. This is going to make non-Boston fans sick, but there’s some Bill Belichick in Stevens. They’re both hard-headed, dedicated to winning, and know how to raise the talent of their players. They can’t elevate the play of every player in the league, but their skill is knowing who can handle their coaching. Avery Bradly, Brandon Bass, Smart and Crowder — even Evan Turner — are Stevens-types, and they thrive under the coach.

The Celtics have taken some criticism for trying — not tanking during a rebuild is unique. But the Celtics already have plenty of what they would have gotten by tanking: draft picks, potentially lottery picks.

Sure, the C’s will have a relatively unsuccessful playoff run, but Stevens and his peons proved they can tango without a lot of talent. The problem looking forward is what Stevens can do with talent. To be completely honest, it’s hard to say — the only real talent he’s corralled is Rondo. That’s a small sample size (one player) and it didn’t fare well. At Butler, he was “handling” Gordon Hayward and Sheldon Mack. Ainge’s goal is to continue to amass talent, and Stevens’ goal is to continue to amass the right talent. Their collaboration will determine the Celtics long-term success.

Some suspect the Celtics could look like the Hawks in two or three years — I don’t see it. They want to be like the Spurs. The problem with that lofty comparison is that you need a Tim Duncan — and last time I checked, Tim Duncans are hard to come by. The advantage, however, is that Stevens has personality. His team’s bite hurts more than their bark is loud. And that will appeal to NBA stars, who want to hibernate during Boston’s coming snowmageddons, pay stupid income tax, and most importantly win championships. The NBA has those guys. Kevin Durant, for example, could be that type, though it’s unlikely he’ll come to Boston. Al Horford, Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah are that type of player, too. They’re out there, and Stevens knows how to identify them in free agency.

His vision for a rebuild may mean that Boston has to wait. But their not functioning on a pyramid scheme of draft capital, pretending the assets will bring them NBA wealth. They’ve got a real foundation on which they can build. It’s Brad Stevens.



bob



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Nice article.  Shows that the author has been paying attention.

I see the Cs adding three rotation players to begin the 2015-16 season.  Some guys getting good minutes now will have to settle for fewer and the team winning nearly 50 games. I do like re-signing Crowder, Bass and Jerebko for no more than two year contracts. I believe that Bradley, Smart, Turner, Thomas, Olynyk, Sullenger and Zeller are all under contract for next season.
not sure what to do with Young, but fill in the bottom of the roster with character guys who can specialize in at least on skill.

Lots of ways to get these three new rotation players, but I predict the following:  trading up to get a young, big man in the draft, trading for a young guy who is ready to break out in the NBA and signing one other young, solid vet type player via free agency who may just want to play in Boston because of Stevens and the culture change that has been made since last season.

I do not think that Ainge will go with signing a max level free agent like say Gasol from Memphis until maybe the summer of 2016 with the thinking that signing a Gasol type/age player now may not have the best timing for the team.  It is not likely that Gasol is going to be a big part of what the Cs are doing when he gets to the last 2-3 years of what would likely be a six year contract at max money.

I'm no prude, but the writer's swearing was puerile and offensive to me as one who uses the written word to make a living. HE also bothered me by implying Danny wanted the team to tank, that he and Brad weren't on the same page, and that the C's have no chance against the Cavs. Let's play the games first before pronouncing their outcomes. Finally, he smeared Brad unnecessarily by saying he didn't handle his stable of one good talent (Rondo) well. C'mon, McKenna.
I am glad he appreciates the quality and intensity of Celtic play. But who doesn't? They're on a six game win streak.

Worcester, I agree that, when a writer's style actually gets in the way of his content, then (in this case) he needs a thesaurus.

I have never before edited a publiched media article, but I don't see any reason to permit bottom-feeding word usage that, as a moderator, I would deny to members who expend the effort to find more palatable synonyms.  I hope Bobh doesn't mind, as I don't believe the changes detract one bit from an interesting perspective.

Sam

Holy Cow, Batman, what an improvement!

W,

Hope I didn't miss anything.  Let me know if you find something.

Sam

Looking good.