Brad Stevens has been an excellent coach for the Boston Celtics but his failure to win a championship has left fans doubting whether he has what it takes. Brad Stevens was hired by Danny Ainge in 2013 to replace Doc Rivers who led the Celtics to two finals appearances, winning one. Stevens was stepping into a rebuild as the Celtics had traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce who were their cornerstone players at the time.
The 2014 season was a tough one as the team traded Rajon Rondo midseason and the team struggled with a lack of talent. The rebuild was in full effect as the team was relying on Jeff Green and Avery Bradley to carry the offensive load. The Celtics ultimately finished the season 25-57 and the future did not look bright. The following season in 2015 Brad Stevens started to establish his culture as the Celtics improved their win total by 15 games and made the playoffs one year after starting their rebuild. This was a remarkable achievement as most rebuilds take at least five years to complete. Although the Celtics lost in the first round, the team had a bright future to look forward to. In 2016 the Celtics once again upped their win total as the Celtics won 48 games to reach the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. This was in part due to Stevens ability to win with less talent and get the best out of average players like Evan Turner and Isaiah Thomas. Once again the Celtics were bounced in the first round but Stevens was showing how he could win with less.
In 2017 Brad Stevens had in my opinion his best season as a head coach as the Celtics won 53 games and were the number one seed in the playoffs. This is one of the greatest coaching seasons of all time as he led a team with their best player under six feet to the first seed in the playoffs. The Celtics would ultimately reach the Conference Finals before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. Stevens had established himself as one of the top coaches in the league while having minimal talent. The following season in 2018 Stevens was given his first premier talents as the Celtics signed Gordon Hayward and acquired Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stevens was put back into the role of winning with less as Gordon Hayward broke his ankle in the first game of the season and Kyrie Irving was shut down with a knee injury before the playoffs. The Celtics earned the number two seed in the Eastern Conference as they won 55 games despite the injuries. In the playoffs the Celtics found a way to make the Eastern Conference Finals as Stevens helped guide Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who were in their first and second years. In the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers the Celtics had the better roster but failed to win game seven at home which was a terrible loss. This was a game that I blame on Stevens as the Celtics shot 7-39 on three pointers and only scored 79 points. Stevens should have changed the strategy at the end of the game because the team was shooting poorly. Although reaching game seven was an accomplishment based on the circumstances, the game was one that the Celtics should have won.
In 2019 Brad Stevens was given a chance to redeem himself as the Celtics were coming back fully healthy with everyone picking them to be in the NBA Finals. The expectations were set too high for Stevens and the Celtics as the team heavily underachieved only winning 49 games and getting the four seed in the playoffs. This was the biggest disappointment of Stevens’ career as he failed to win with all the talent at his disposal. He failed to bring the team together as there were problems all year on who would get the shots on offense. This led to the Celtics losing in the second round to the Milwaukee Bucks in a series that was really never close. As a result of the season’s failures the media began to question whether Stevens could handle coaching talent as he failed to control the egos. People questioned why Stevens couldn’t get the most out of talented players like Kyrie Irving when he was doing it with average players like Evan Turner. Stevens responded with a great season this year as the Celtics are the third seed heading into the bubble and the chemistry could not be better. Stevens has done a great job of coaching a team that has two all-stars, a former all-star, and a fringe all-star who all expect to have shots on offense.
Despite the success of this season, the pressure is on Stevens to reach the finals as the Celtics have the talent to get it done. Stevens has now been the coach of the Celtics for six years and he has failed to reach the finals when there have been seasons where he should have. If Stevens continues on this path of his teams playing great in the regular season and fading in the playoffs, the media will start to put him in the group of coaches like Mike D’Antoni who have failed to win championships. Stevens is also facing the pressure of the fanbase as Boston expects championships so if he continues to fail in the playoffs people will question whether Danny Ainge should move on. Regular season success doesn’t matter unless you win in the postseason as the postseason is where you are judged on all-time greatness. Furthermore, Stevens needs to start proving that he can win with talent as most of his postseason success has come with average teams. If he fails to win with Jayson Tatum playing at an All-NBA level and Kemba Walker playing at an all-star level, we might have to question if he is the right fit for the Celtics.
Overall, the Celtics will be an exciting team to watch in the bubble as they are going to be contending for a championship. The question remains how will Stevens handle the pressure of coaching a star laden team in the postseason? Hopefully, Stevens handles the pressure tremendously and the Celtics find a way to win banner 18.
Thompson's Takes 