Coaching is often underrated in the NBA. It's not uncommon to see franchises go for recognizable names, who have neither a great past record on the sideline, nor fresh ideas to bring to a team. The carousel continues and the Byron Scotts and Mike Browns of the world keep getting opportunities that should be going to more innovative coaches, who can extract the best from the talent they have.
Brad Stevens is the Celtics’ greatest asset
The Celtics’ coach is one of the best in the league and should help Boston become a contender soon.
Quin Snyder in Utah and Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta are two examples of first time NBA coaches who led their teams to significant turnarounds. Yet, there's no better way to illustrate how important finding the right leader can be to a franchise, than to watch what Brad Stevens is doing with the Celtics.
Stevens is helping players improve
Stevens took over in Boston after Doc Rivers departed for the Clippers, hoping to avoid a rebuilding process. From the start it was obvious the Celtics were going to go through a lot of roster turnover, looking for their future core instead of treading water. That's the type of scenario that can lead a coach to complacency, as he won't be judged by immediate results. Instead of biding his time until the front office got him the talent he needed to compete, however, Stevens decided to help the players he had become the best versions of themselves.
With Stevens at the helm, Avery Bradley made a huge leap from perimeter defender to two-way threat. He's been encouraged to let three-pointers fly, averaging over five a game, and is connecting on a decent 35 percent of them. Stevens has also been able to harness Evan Turner's playmaking ability to turn him into a productive offensive player, despite his limitations as a shooter. Turner is assisting on almost 30 percent of his teammates' field goals while on the floor, a mark befitting of a point guard. He's pushed Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger to shoot three-pointers, and has helped Tyler Zeller become a decent pick-and-roll finisher and rim protector, by having the team play to his strengths.
That willingness to allow and even encourage players to go out of their comfort zone, while also identifying and hiding their limitations, makes Stevens one of the best teachers among coaches. It could pay off handsomely for the Celtics in the future, especially if he can guide rookie Marcus Smart to reach his maximum potential.
Stevens is giving the Celtics an identity
While there are still coaches that refuse to employ the three-pointer consistently as a weapon (looking at you, Flip Saunders, Derek Fisher and Byron Scott), Stevens has made it a priority to get his players to buy-in on the value of outside shooting. The Celtics rank 13th in three-point attempts per game, despite being the fourth-worst outside shooting team in the league. The personnel isn't there for Boston to punish teams from beyond the arc, but Stevens is establishing a culture of smart, efficient basketball that should allow the Celtics to become a good offensive team as they acquire more top-level talent.
The Celtics are also pushing the pace, ranking fifth in the league in possessions per 48 minutes. They are big believers of moving the ball, as their second place in assist opportunities (passes that would have been assists had the shot been converted) and fifth place in points created by assists suggest. Stevens has Boston playing exactly the type of high-pace, pass-heavy, three-point oriented offense that the Spurs, Hawks and Warriors play. The team is not very good at offense yet because it doesn't have the right players, but the philosophy is sound.
Yet, Stevens’ biggest accomplishment might be having his team in the middle of the pack in terms of defensive efficiency, despite having had 22 players receiving playing time this season. The Celtics have no rim protectors except for Zeller, but use smart schemes that have slow-footed bigs drop back, while more nimble forwards switch on ball screens to contain penetration and keep opponents off the paint. Their ferocious perimeter defenders cause turnovers and keep ball-handlers in front of them. They also rank in the bottom half of the league in three-pointers allowed and allow the sixth-lowest three-point percentage in the league. Under Stevens, everything the Celtics do is smart.
Stevens’ set play are some of the best in the league
Stevens is a very clever play designer on top of being good at big picture thinking. This play against the Jazz to win the game is a masterpiece.
The Celtics clear the space near the rim by having Thomas run to a corner, and use the threat of Zeller’s screening to get the Jazz defense to switch after seeing them do just that when they tried to inbound the ball before. When they do, Zeller cuts to the basket and receives the pass all alone, and with a smaller player on him.
This play to free up Kelly Olynik for a three-pointer that Mike Prada broke down, shows how great the Celtics are at misdirection under Stevens.
Once again, these are plays you’d expect veteran teams like the Spurs to make, and Stevens is getting a bunch of young players with no elite talent or continuity on their side to execute them.
★★★
The Celtics' playoff odds are now at 80 percent after a key win against the Cavaliers on Friday. Yet, even if they were to miss the postseason, this year has clearly been a step in the right direction for the rebuilding franchise. Brad Stevens deserves most of the credit for helping players grow and establishing a culture as well as a name for himself as an innovative coach.
How far the Celtics go under Stevens will come down to the talent they manage to acquire. Clever schemes can’t make up for lacking stars that can elevate a team’s ceiling on their own. What is crystal clear even now, is that Boston is still trying to find that elite player, and in just two years Stevens has established himself as one of the best coaches in the league, and the Celtics greatest asset.
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