Early Returns from Stevens' Tenure: Tough Love and Rational Decisions Now in Charge

Early returns from Brad Stevens' Boston Celtics tenure: Tough love and rational decisions now in charge



Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens makes a point during the fourth quarter of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Friday,
Oct. 11, 2013, in Newark, Del. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
on November 07, 2013 at 11:59 PM, updated November 08, 2013 at 8:27 AM





Sometimes you can almost see Brad Stevens holding his emotions under water, assuring they do not rise above the surface and meet the world.

The emotions exist, not far below the surface, and they are powerful, probably more so than we understand. Stevens hates losing, he does not like the Boston Celtics’ 1-4 record, and yet sometimes he appears so calm he almost looks numbed by life, no longer capable of mustering responses to hurt or joy. And yet we know this is not the case. Somewhere we cannot see, those emotions exist. He vows they are already forcing him into action. He swears he will not allow losing to keep him under the water.

“Yeah, it gets to me,” Stevens said Wednesday. “But one of the things I think that I hopefully have and can show – I’ve got resolve. I know that I have to come to work the next day and be the best that we can be.”

Don’t let the “hopefully” or “I think” fool you: that was Stevens' way of fiercely declaring himself ready for any challenge. In case you couldn’t tell from watching his Butler teams – which tended to exercise more physicality than any opponent – the coach is tough.

Think about all the difficult decisions he’s already made. In the first two weeks of his career, he has … started Brazilian rookie center Vitor Faverani in place of Jared Sullinger, one of the few key returning figures; told veteran Kris Humphries to eat pine; benched quasi-star Jeff Green for an entire fourth quarter after a slew of defensive mistakes; sat Faverani for the final 42 minutes Friday after he allowed Enes Kanter to get whatever he wanted for the first six; and told 31-year old Gerald Wallace, who had started 590 of his previous 608 games, that he needed to come off the bench.

Stevens lacks for conviction like "Good Will Hunting" lacks for quotable lines. The coach can feel comfortable shaking things up because he has a rational explanation for everything. Humphries has been productive at times in his career, but the Celtics frontcourt is crowded and he’s the odd man out. Wallace was initially confused by coming off the bench, but Stevens told the small forward he wanted him to play more often alongside Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk – a combination that then outscored Utah 28-14 over 10 minutes of action. Sullinger deserves more minutes, but Stevens believes he’s not yet in regular season shape. Stevens started Jordan Crawford against the Jazz, citing his ability to improve Boston’s offense – and sure enough, a glance at the stats confirms the Celtics attack has essentially crumbled whenever Crawford’s on the bench.

Like all coaches Stevens is charged with making difficult decisions – and I’ve disagreed with some, mostly Sullinger’s paltry minutes – but he always has thoroughly-contemplated reasons to back them up.

“He’s just always calm. No matter what situation we were in, he always knew what we needed to do and communicated that with us extremely well,” said former Butler star Gordon Hayward, who has obviously played more games for Stevens than any of the Celtics. “As a player, when your leader is calm and collected, it kind of makes you relaxed as well. I think he was able to be so calm because of preparation he did before. He was always prepared and he taught us to always be prepared too.”

“He's just a really smart guy and a really good guy … It is a learning process for him and he has a good assistant coaching staff that is helping him, some veteran players,” Celtics president of basketball operations told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich on Thursday. “But he's just a guy that works harder than any coach that I've seen. I think he's going to be a great success."

The road might occasionally take Stevens to unintended places – like the first four-game losing streak of his career, including Butler, which is how the Celtics started their season – but he keeps driving forward. After the first NBA win Wednesday night against Utah, he said he would savor the moment … for about 12 minutes, until he planned to start preparing for Friday’s opponent, the Orlando Magic.

Without any consistent interior presence, Stevens has coaxed the Celtics into a top-10 defense – and he’s done that despite Boston allowing as many dunk and layup attempts as any team except Portland. The Celtics are allowing opponents to hit just 27.5 percent of 3-pointers; Stevens’ team has also surrendered fewer corner 3-point attempts (2.4 per game) – and overall 3-pointers (11.4) – than any other team in the NBA. Corner 3-pointers are generally viewed as one of basketball’s most efficient shots; by essentially declining to help off anyone in that spot, Boston has all but kept opponents from shooting them.

And while some of that has to do with the opponents, not the best-shooting bunch, the early defense has represented a very encouraging sign – at least for those Celtics fans still hoping the team remains competitive. Last year’s Celtics were essentially a bottom-10 defense without Kevin Garnett on the court, but there’s hope Avery Bradley, Gerald Wallace, Brandon Bass and Jared Sullinger – a much better defender than he ever receives credit for – can lead a pretty good unit.

This story would be biased if I did not mention the obvious struggles on the other end of the court. Rajon Rondo’s return, whenever it might be, will help some offensive issues, but not all. His ball-handling should serve to lower the incredible amount of turnovers, but the Celtics probably don’t have enough talent to sniff a top-15 offense regardless; after a stretch of mediocre opponents, including the struggling Grizzlies, Stevens’ squad still ranks near the bottom in offensive efficiency. The Celtics have completely fallen apart in every fourth quarter so far.

But Stevens has run some creative sets with a whole lot of player movement. And anyway, this team would find scoring difficult even with a perfect offensive scheme. Do people understand how difficult a job Stevens accepted, at least for the time being?

Boston’s glaring lack of stars and obvious mismatched pieces are part of it, but Stevens also has to deal with a bizarre locker room. Not a single player on the roster can be assured he’ll stay in Boston for the long haul; the Celtics are a mixture of veterans who obviously don’t make sense as future pieces and youngsters who could very well be used in a trade.

Already Stevens has contributed to a shift in Rajon Rondo’s reputation, praising the All-Star guard at every turn. The coach has so far kept Wallace, obviously not thrilled to be in a rebuilding process, from turning into a problem; though the veteran has criticized his teammates several times, they still consider him a leader. After he came off the bench Friday, he said he can embrace his new role as a sparkplug. Maybe, he believes, the decision can even prolong his career.

If Stevens fired back at Wallace in the press, he would probably risk losing the veteran forever. Instead he has called himself a fan since Day 1, continuing his habit of dealing with every problem carefully. When Green was underwhelming, resulting in the aforementioned fourth-quarter benching, Stevens just said he went with a lineup that was working.

“That’s what I’ve always done,” the coach said when asked if he sits people down to explain his decisions. “I’ve played every role. Now I’ve never played at this level but I’ve played every role. I’ve sat and watched whole games. I’ve played a lot in whole games. I know the feeling in both of those and it’s important to communicate to those guys that aren’t playing as much.”

We won’t be able to judge Stevens properly until the Celtics reload with talent, but for now tough love and reasoned decisions rule the day. Despite a 1-4 record, this seems to be working. But keep in mind it's early still.




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