Boston Celtics: 3 reasons team is ‘as good as advertised’
Brad Stevens didn’t take home the 2018 NBA Coach of the Year Award, but the Boston Celtics head coach is proving he is elite year after year.
Who cares if five potential stars are walking through that door, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens isn’t buying the hype. In fact, he isn’t impressed at all.
Following Tuesday night’s lackluster 102-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden, Stevens put his team on notice that their talent alone isn’t going to get it done in the NBA.
Yes, it was just a preseason game, but the Celtics coach sees a complacency in his team that could knock them off the Eastern Conference pedestal come regular season. They simply can’t just flip a switch and turn it on. From Kyrie Irving down to rookie Robert Williams, Stevens let his team know that they are “not as good as advertised right now.”
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Part of that is just chemistry as the team is trying to re-insert Gordon Hayward and Irving back into the flow of the offense and defense. Much of it is due to a lack of effort and the intensity that has come to define Boston Celtics basketball.
Although Stevens frustration may be considered overstated, the complacency is something he has feared before the preseason even started given the expectations of this team.
"“…the idea that when you have a team back that was so good defensively that we don’t skip steps. I’d say that’s the No. 1 concern I’ve got,” Stevens told Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett in late September. “I’ve watched teams before have really good years and kind of go through the motions on that end of the court. And we can’t do that.”"
With defense or lack thereof being Steven’s biggest concern, his criticism of the team is understood. But, come on. We all know this Boston Celtics team is very, very good.