Brad Stevens encouraged by Jaylen Brown's play, discusses struggling 3-guard lineups

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/12/boston_celtics_notes_brad_stev_10.html




Boston Celtics notes: Brad Stevens encouraged by Jaylen Brown's play, discusses struggling 3-guard lineups




Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, right, and assistant coach Jay Larranaga instruct players in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, Nov. 25, 2016, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)



Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com





on December 13, 2016 at 7:00 PM




SAN ANTONIO -- What follows is a collection of Boston Celtics notes from the team's practice Tuesday afternoon, touching on small lineups, Jae Crowder's golf game and Jaylen Brown's recent play.

1. Despite trying the IT-and-D lineup (Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Al Horford) as his crunch-time group several times this season, head coach Brad Stevens knows the numbers on his team's three-guard combinations have not been good. Even once Thomas returns, it sounds like we could see Stevens use them more sparingly.

"I think we're to point where we've got a lot of information," he said. "So we have to make the right calls at the right time. There will be certain games where that maybe will work better than others. But there will be some times when that's not going to be an option for us."

2. Because these two things have been true:

Celtics lineups with wing size have typically performed better
The Celtics don't have a lot of trustworthy wings with size
... it seems important that Jaylen Brown has contributed consistently productive minutes of late.


"I think it's important that everybody gets to the point where they can provide those late-game rotation minutes," Stevens said. "I've been really encouraged by Jaylen's play the last four games. Like anybody else his age, there's going to be moments of good and bad. He comes to work everyday, he's trying to get better and we've talked about it before -- that body is important in this league, to be able to defend, to be able to rebound, to be able to create an advantage on offense. And we saw when Jae (Crowder) was out, that's why Jaylen's continued improvement is critical."

3. After praising Brown, Stevens fielded a question about what he stresses to the rookie beyond consistency.

"No, I think that's the most important thing," Stevens said. "I've said from Day 1: Become a good defender; learn where your spots are on offense, right, then you gotta keep the defense honest by making opens shots. I think that, ultimately, if you do those three things, the game will come quicker. The deal is, at that age, and Terry (Rozier) is in that boat, too, in a lot of ways because it's his first year playing, you try to slow the game down as much as possible.

"And they've done a good job. I feel really good about those guys and their improvement. And I feel good about the way we've played for the most part. I'm frustrated, certainly, by the results, but I'm excited about the way we're playing and I think we're in a much better place than we were a month ago."

4. To Stevens' point, Al Horford and Jae Crowder returned from injuries on Nov. 19. Despite the recent pulled groin for Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics since that date own a +3.6 net rating, which is considerably better than the +0.5 net rating they racked up before that. The win-loss record hasn't necessarily caught up, but Boston is playing substantially better.

5. Just not well enough, as Crowder pointed out.

"I feel like, like I told you the other night, we've been having a lot of miscues on communication on the defensive and offensive end, and we have to get better at that," he said. "Especially in the fourth quarter when we're trying to win a game, especially on the road, you have to get better. And I think we have to make strides and get better in taking care of the game. We have the game taken care of, but we let teams get back in it with lack of communication and lack of all five guys being on the same page. We have to get better at that."

5. Also in need of improvement: Jae Crowder's golf game.

"It's OK. A little rusty," he said one day after hitting the links with Gerald Green. "It's been a while."

6. Given Crowder's intensity level, it's entertaining (for me, at least) to envision him playing such a low-key sport.

"It's very calming and relaxing and takes a lot of mental preparation and just keeps the competitive juices going," Crowder said. "I talk crap with Gerald and get him going. But it's a competitive sport."

7. So, how good is Crowder at golf?

"I'm all right," he said. "You know, golf is a sport where you've got to keep going every day, and me playing a basketball career, I'm a little rusty right now."

But what does rusty mean? What does he shoot?

"I'll keep that to myself," he said, "unless you want to join me today and find out yourself."

8. Eighteen holes with Crowder would have been entertaining. Instead, here I sit in a San Antonio hotel, writing words. Before I leave, it should probably be noted that Crowder said he's motivated by missing out on all-defense honors last season. He also sang the praises of the two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year, Kawhi Leonard.

"I guess his length on the ball (makes him special)," Crowder said. "He has great activity with his hands whenever he's guarding a person. And he's just very smart. He's a heady type guy. He's very smart. He knows when to press up on you. He knows when to back up. So he's a great defender.'




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