Brad Stevens showing his worth
The Boston Celtics have very little talent.
Isaiah Thomas is a very quality guard and Avery Bradley is one of the best defensive players in the National Basketball Association, but this is not a team with any All-NBA players. Heck, this roster would barely be recognized if it walked into Market Square for a night out in downtown Boston.
Yet, the Celtics are 39-29 and currently holding down the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Looking at the roster, there is nothing to suggest this team should be sniffing the postseason, let alone have home-court advantage in the quarterfinals. Incredibly, this is exactly where Boston is.
The reason is singular and it stands lanky with glasses, calmly surveying the court. His name is Brad Stevens, and he is the best personnel move that general manager Danny Ainge has ever made.
Stevens is one of the youngest coaches in the game – head or assistant – at 39 years old. He is only in his third season with Boston after spending seven seasons as the head man with the Butler Bulldogs in D-I collegiate basketball. Butler was considered a fringe major program until Stevens made his imprint. The Bulldogs went on one of the most memorable runs in college history, reaching the 2010 and 2011 National Championship Game for a team coming out of the small Horizon League.
While Butler could not close the deal in either of those contests, those years paved the way for both Stevens to reach the NBA and for the school to become part of the fabled Big East.
Stevens is not going to win an NBA championship this season. In reality, it is highly unlikely that the Celtics win more than one round in the postseason. Should Boston win in the quarters, it will likely take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Regardless of Stevens’ brilliance, there is no way for the Celtics to take on LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Stevens found that out last year, when Boston was swept in the first round by Cleveland on its way to the NBA Finals.
Ainge’s biggest challenge will be putting quality players around Stevens. The upcoming offseason could be a pivotal turning point, with Boston owning the first-round pick of the Brooklyn Nets. Considering the ineptitude of Brooklyn, the Celtics will have a high lottery pick and some money to spend in a hot free-agent market.
Boston should be thrilled about the direction of its program, thanks in large part to a coach who looks 10 years younger than his true age. Stevens had brought back winning basketball to a city that tolerates nothing less.
It should be a pairing that makes beautiful music long into the future.
