Brad Stevens In Think Mode

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2015/01/brad_stevens_in_think_mode



Brad Stevens in think mode
Changes afoot for West swing


Thursday, January 22, 2015
By:  Steve Bulpett


PORTLAND, Ore. — The Celtics were back at work here yesterday, having remained in Marina del Rey and taken the previous day off from team activities, and they could look different when they take the floor against the Trail Blazers tonight.

And while some players went to the gym to get up shots and coaches scouted their own team and upcoming opponents Tuesday, most still derived some good decompression time.

Brad Stevens let his mind race and wander, opening a laboratory between his ears that could impact the Celts’ rotation and what the players in it are running.

“Yes, there are some thoughts on altering it,” the coach said after going straight from the airport to the arena here. “You know, 24 hours away from a team practice or a team meeting is way too much to have to think. I used to tell our old teams, any time I’d go on a long commercial flight it was bad, because I’d come back with a bunch of ideas. I’d have my headphones in and be thinking the whole time.

“So (Tuesday) I spent a lot of time in the hotel watching film and trying to continue to look at what we need to do to get better.”

He acknowledged that the Celts reserves have had more success than the starters as of late, and there could be some mixing of the crews that comes from this self-examination.

“I think so,” Stevens said, “but one of the things you have to consider is (the opponent’s) first team and second team on the court, too. So if you’re playing against — and this is nothing against teams’ second units — but if you’re playing against some of these first units, especially the other day with (Chris) Paul and (Blake) Griffin and (DeAndre) Jordan, no matter who’s in the game for us, they’re probably not going to be as effective (against those Clippers starters). . . .

“The biggest thing in our situation is, can we find some consistency? And, again, I want to be conscious of who each unit’s playing against in particular games and how the matchups look. But I don’t want to keep bouncing back and forth based on the other team. I want to try to do what’s best for us as much as we possibly can.”

Avery Bradley noted that his club is still in the early stages of a process made more difficult by several trades.

“We’re still learning,” he said. “We’re learning how to execute our plays and where we’re able to get people shots. And we’re still learning how to play with each other. I mean, every week’s been like a new team for us.”

And preparing can be more difficult when the losses mount. The Celts have dropped three straight and 12 of their last 15.

“That’s part of the game,” said Bradley. “It’s a long season. A lot of teams can turn it around, and that’s all we’re focused on right now, just winning games. We’re worried about (tonight’s) game, and we just take it one game at a time. I feel like that’s the best way to go.”

Said Stevens: “I think all these guys have to understand that every night is a new opportunity, and every time you take the floor it’s an opportunity to show improvement. And not only to show improvement in your individual game and performance, but in your individual ability to impact winning. . . .

“Obviously you can get the cumulative effect of losing, which is very tough because you get down on yourself, and you can also deal with a lot of things — injuries, etc. — that add to the challenge,” the coach added. “But I think that you have to approach each opportunity as a brand new day and a brand new opportunity to prove that you’ve improved in those areas.”

And the Celtics will have to improve on the fly as this trip continues. It began with Monday’s loss to the Clippers and follows with a stretch of four games in five nights that opens here tonight and moves to Denver tomorrow, Golden State on Sunday and Utah on Monday.

“I think it’s been pretty well documented our travel from (tonight) on is, I think, the longest four games in five days as far as miles go in the league (on any team’s 2014-15 schedule),” said Stevens, referring to an ESPN breakdown that has this part of the run at 3,101 miles. “We’re going to change time zones a couple of times. We’re going to play against good teams. We’re going to play against high energy teams. So we’re going to have to make sure we do everything we can to have the right amount of legs for that whole trip.”



bob



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having Kelly out is going to make it even harder.

Now that the period Brad was referencing is in retrospect, it seems he did some pretty good thinking. He certainly took advantage of matchups (and missing opposition players) in elevating Brandon Bass to the center position. And yet, at the end of crunch time against Denver, he had Zeller in there—and I'm sure it wasn't by mistake.

I hope he gets his wish about consistency. However here's hoping it doesn't mean a one point game every night. The mortality rates among Celtics fans are likely to soar.

Most of all, I hope that the discontinuity caused by player arrivals and departures will not be persisting. I understand that Danny's pursuing his "liquid assets" approach in trying to get as many picks as possible and pave the way for acquisition of "human assets." But it surely would be nice to be able to do our own evaluations (however amateurish) of a target that isn't constantly moving.

Sam