Boston Celtics: Brad Stevens has a point to prove this year

Brad Stevens presided over numerous successful seasons as head coach of the Boston Celtics until provided with the most talented roster of his career.

Hired as head coach of the Boston Celtics in 2013 to usher in a new era following the blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets, Brad Stevens has developed a reputation as one of the league’s premier coaches.

Stevens enjoyed a highly successful career coaching the Butler Bulldogs, where he led them to four regular-season conference championships and three conference tournament championships while also reaching the Final Four twice.

More from Hoops Habit

His collegiate career ended with a record of 166 wins and 49 losses, a winning percentage ratio of .772, a phenomenal mark at any level.

Upon entering the NBA, Stevens inherited a poor roster headlined by talents such as a recovering Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, leading to a baptism of fire. During his inaugural season, Stevens led the team to 25 wins and 57 losses, missing the playoffs in the process.

Throughout the large quantity of roster turnover in the subsequent years, Stevens then led the team to the playoffs in the following five seasons, guiding them to increased win totals year-on-year, creating a winning culture and earning himself a stellar reputation during the process.

The culture he has instilled throughout the organization correlated in big free-agent names considering the Celtics as a possible destination with Al Horford and Gordon Hayward opting to join the team during their respective free-agency years.

Stevens elicits quality out of every player, most notably journeymen, as evidenced with Evan Turner and, to a larger extent, Isaiah Thomas, who had one of the best seasons any point guard in Boston has ever had.

Kyrie Irving had the best statistical season of his career during the ill-fated 2018-19 season, Marcus Smart improves every year — the narrative is simple, play for Stevens and you will improve your game.

Adding players such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown through previous drafts, the Celtics built an incredibly deep roster heading into 2018-19, the most talented roster Stevens had been provided during his young NBA career.

Expectations were high in the build-up to last season due to the Celtics’ stellar run to the conference finals of 2017-18, where they over-performed in the absence of both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

Those same expectations became the team’s downfall during last season. The younger players seemingly believing they deserved a larger role within the rotation following their exploits the previous year. Additionally, the veterans struggled to gel inside a fractured locker room.

Stevens began to show signs of human error not seen before in his tenure, regularly waiting too long before calling timeouts and being unable to find a definitive lineup that worked.

What promised so much petered out into nothing more than a thoroughly deserved exit at the hand of the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs.

That was followed by Terry Rozier airing the team’s dirty laundry on national television, with everything Stevens and the front office had built was seemingly crashing down around them.

Multiple starters have moved on during the summer, leaving Brad Stevens with a chance to start over. Gone are Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Aron Baynes and Marcus Morris.

Stevens now has a roster filled with role players and rookies, with the team only containing two or three star players, providing him with a clean canvas upon which to imprint his basketball knowledge.

Enes Kanter sticks out as the next player to benefit from playing in Stevens’ system, where he should reach new personal heights.

Stevens was honest in his assessment of the season during his end-of-year interview, shouldering the majority of the blame for what transpired while remaining classy in his appreciation of what the Bucks had accomplished.

It is this that endears him to the fan base; his willingness to take the blame and look internally at his processes for ways to improve what he does.

Newly constructed, this roster boasts more rebounding than Stevens has had during his time in Boston, providing him with new options on both ends of the floor.

Kemba Walker led the league last year in pick-and-roll plays as the ball handler; now he will have multiple targets when looking for lob passes or big men in the post. Vincent Poirier projects as a rim-running big able to affect shots on defense while being a threat around the rim on offense.

New players bring options the Celtics have not had during Stevens’ tenure.

No longer considered contenders, the pressure is off. This is where Stevens thrives by coaching his players into positions of over-achievement.

There is now a defined hierarchy among the players in terms of touches and shots, alleviating one of the main issues of the previous year, in turn providing an opportunity for a unity which was sorely lacking when needed most in 2018-19.

Stevens would have done much soul searching over the summer, looking at where it went wrong (and right), formulating new schemes and play calls designed at elevating the talent at his disposal.

No longer does he have the most talented team of his career and that is a good thing. Stevens still has an All-Star point guard and multiple fringe All-Star young guys able to take that leap this year and let’s not forget Gordon Hayward following a full summer of unrestricted workouts.

Moving into the new season the mantra “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” becomes fitting.

Now it’s time for Stevens to re-establish his reputation as one of the league smartest and best player development coaches. This could be the best version of Stevens since he entered the league.

A desire to become the best means bouncing back following adversity, Stevens is primed to do just that by not allowing his work do the talking.

Next. NBA's top 30 rivalries of all-time. dark

Expect to hear his name in Coach of the Year conversations.

Home/Boston Celtics