Post-Game Notes: BOS 113, MIA 125 (2-4)

[Shak_Celts]

by saying his good players call CBS out I knew someone would think I mainly meant kyrie but there is a long list. Jae, IT4, AB, JT, JB, kyrie, and probably more guys who aren't just off the top of my head. Pretty much all of his better players. I want to say Horford too but I can't think of anything he said at the moment, could have been a rumor or something that's triggering in me.

Well, you said his "best players."

I don't recall those guys calling him out, IT in particular has publicly said some great things about him. I could have easily missed it though. But he seems pretty well respected league wide, really. Like Doc, you can pick him apart but he also clearly has his strengths, too.

Kyrie said great things about him too. This isn't the first time I have brought up players calling him out, it happened multiple times. Not by name IIRC but a few times "coaching or coach" was mentioned. AB and Jae were some of our best players when here. Would "better" be best to you?

[GrandTheftRondo]

I don't buy that we had more talent and lost. This team either over-achieved or, worst case, met expectations.

We have 2 great young players, one a superstar. They carried our max players in the bubble/playoffs.
One all-world energy/bench defensive guy.
A much maligned starting center who delivered way more than could have been reasonably asked of him.
Some Williamses that could amount to something someday.
And a Wanamaker and a Kanter.
That's it.

Butler & Bam duo are as talented as Tatum & Brown
Dragic is close to/better than Kemba given Kemba's knee, height and playoff inexperience.
The rest of the Heat depth is far better than what Brad had to work with.
Hayward injury doomed us.

It sucks we couldn't make it over the top, but not many teams make the Finals with their 2 best players 23 and younger.

We have a lot to build on, but need to nail the draft and get one good vet signing and we're rolling next year.

Yep. I get Boston fans demand a lot but I think a lot have lost sight of where this team came from. They went into the season losing Horford, Kyrie, Rozier and Morris. Okay they weren’t perfect here but they were big parts of this team. They got replaced with Kemba and Kanter. That’s the reality. Whether Ainge simply couldn’t find talent or wanted to see how this team developed for a season I don’t know. But they simply didn’t have a bench needed to win a title. Tatum the best year grew as the season went and became really damn good by the end. But he’s young as hell. Weird year or not young players as your guy have to be really damn special to make the finals. Durant and LeBron are the only two recent examples I can think of. Enough said.


The reality is the pandemic changed the equation and it was too late for Ainge to do anything. The top guys carried this team to the ECF. This team simply lacked leadership and bench players in this series. The Heat had the savvy Iguodala, Dragic and Butler who is hungry as hell.


The East is open as. The Bucks are not unbeatable like we maybe thought a year or so ago. While Giannis cannot shoot they are a playoff worry. The rest of the East are similar or worse to Boston. There will be more chances for this team. Tatum will get better. Brown might too. People can abuse Ainge but he will be well aware now as to what he has in Brown and Tatum. He can put some shooters around them.

[GrandTheftRondo]

I’m sorry but the fire Brad Stevens posters you are absolutely ridiculous and need to calm down or give up watching basketball if you don’t think this guy is a talented coach.

Coaches are only as good as their best players anyway. Brad has yet to have the top ten sort of talent to get him to the finals. Tatum was close this year but still needs some polish.

In 2017 he took an overachieving team with Isaiah Thomas who he managed to turn into some sort of Curry lite to the ECF. They ran into LeBron and got smoked. No shame in that.

In 2018 they were minutes off the finals with a rookie Tatum, young Brown and Rozier and Horford. They ran into the freight train that is LeBron.

2019 is a write off. Yes Stevens may have struggled to curtail Kyrie and all the other problematic players. But Kyrie was a giant pain in the arse. Like he has been his whole career.

This season he gets them to the ECF. I could get so many posts from so many on here in preseason about the expectations for this team. He surpassed what we all thought again. That’s the reality of it.

Players get better under him. Ignore that all you like. It’s the truth.

He is a smart coach. No matter how many times some of you try and claim he isn’t. He understands the game plenty.

You don’t fire a good coach just because he can’t live up to your ridiculous expectations of a team. Luckily Ainge has a brain and wouldn’t even consider it. There’s probably 25 other teams out there that would kill for Stevens. The reality is anyway is there aren’t all these good coaches around. Teams fire and hire people and end up going nowhere almost every year.

It’s like some of you think a Phil Jackson type coach is available or something. Stevens is one of the best coaches in the league. You don’t give up on that unless there’s a catastrophic relationship breakup between him or a player or he does something horribly wrong coaching wise. He’s done neither.

[CalL]

Cant believe k olynyk and j crowder are going to the finals

Why? Look at some of the scrubs on the Lakers team ... isn't Caruso a starter for them?
Edit: Sorry if you were only talking about their "past" and not about their quality, in that case i misinterpreted your comment.

[CalL]

Tatum and Brown are 100% keepers. Everyone else can go IMO.

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Why would you trade Smart?

[SmartWentCrazy]

Cant believe k olynyk and j crowder are going to the finals

Why? Look at some of the scrubs on the Lakers team ... isn't Caruso a starter for them?
Edit: Sorry if you were only talking about their "past" and not about their quality, in that case i misinterpreted your comment.

Youre on a Celtics board mate, think critically

[CalL]

Guys, this hurts. We were so close. But I think, when we all wake up tomorrow morning, we should realize the great strides our guys made this year. Our guys just weren't ready yet, and these are growing pains. There is still alot of of work to be done, but the foundation is solid.

Have a drink, take in the loss tonight but be nice to yourselves tomorrow morning when you wake up, and appreciate the great run we had. Stay safe everyone.

Third straight year with this not ready bull. Miami is going to the Finals with a bunch of rookies and second year players. Someone has to be accountable for these repeated failures in the playoffs.

I think their veterans (Dragic, Butler) did a better job than the Celtics veterans (Hayward, Walker). I didn't see much leadership from Hayward/Walker. Maybe you can't just buy leadership but need to let one of the young guys (Tatum, Brown) grow into it? I am not sure whether one of those two will ever fill that role though. It may sound crazy, but maybe someone like Chris Paul could help?

[CalL]

Obviously the biggest potential is on the center position, but i also think that so far neither Walker nor Hayward have shown that they are worth their money. I also think that Walker's defense is too much of a liability. Maybe the team could be improved by trying to trade one of them and get someone like Vucevic/Valanciunas/Ibaka/Turner? I think Theis is doing the best he can, but without a 3 point shot and a decent midrange jumper he is extremely limited offensively and also doesn't create any space for Jaylen/Jayson.

I would try to get the following roster for the next season:
Brown
Tatum
2 decent role players
One of the centers i mentioned

Smart
2 or 3 other good bench players

Guys like Rose, Bertans or Reddick might be interesting off the bench. I think this year the draft is pretty weak, so i would try to get something in return for the picks.

[The Corey's]

meh, the fire ainge/fire brad folks understand team building NOT AT ALL. the only thing our leadership has done wrong is have a faster rebuild than people expected and got people's hopes too far up this year. you played yourself if you ever thought this was a championship caliber team. very few people anywhere thought this was even an ECF team.

tatum/JB are our future. they are our leaders who need to grow into that role, but they aren't there yet. brad needs to grow as well.
everyone else is transitional, except whichever of the kids rise up like the williams bros, and maybe smart. this rebuild is far from done, we're in the middle of it not the end. we are going for multiple championships. we are going for a dynasty, not trying to catch lightning in a bottle. anyone not willing to see this thru can feel free to go walking out through that door.

False narrative.

Faster rebuild than expected? You are aware that danny was tearing this team down while miami was in the middle of their 4 back to back title appearances, no first round picks or picking at the end of the first and absolutely no cap right?

And yet, here we are with them having a better team than us 7 years later despite starting at such a huge disadvantage.

Why are we continuing to give out hall passes? This was a unequivocal disasterous result and everyone knows it.

[CalL]

Guys, this hurts. We were so close. But I think, when we all wake up tomorrow morning, we should realize the great strides our guys made this year. Our guys just weren't ready yet, and these are growing pains. There is still alot of of work to be done, but the foundation is solid.

Have a drink, take in the loss tonight but be nice to yourselves tomorrow morning when you wake up, and appreciate the great run we had. Stay safe everyone.

Gonna wake up tomorrow and still feel CBS isn't the coach to get us over the hump. I have felt iffy on him for 2 seasons now. If your stars aren't listening to you, time to move on!! We'll be here next season saying the same stuff. "Team just wasn't ready."

Maybe you are right, but which coach out there would be a better choice in your opinion?

[CalL]

I'm actually somewhat happy about the outcome. This Bam brutalizing pretty much guarantees Theis won't be our starting C next year. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back to Europe. Just total humiliation.

Start Rob next year and trade Hayward to get an actual playmaker..

What an overreaction ...
Just last game Theis was very good and for the money he gets he certainly is overperforming. He will easily find another team in the NBA if the Celtics get rid of him. The problem isn't him, but the fact that he is the starting center. He never was supposed to be a starter in the NBA.

[CalL]

meh, the fire ainge/fire brad folks understand team building NOT AT ALL. the only thing our leadership has done wrong is have a faster rebuild than people expected and got people's hopes too far up this year. you played yourself if you ever thought this was a championship caliber team. very few people anywhere thought this was even an ECF team.

tatum/JB are our future. they are our leaders who need to grow into that role, but they aren't there yet. brad needs to grow as well.
everyone else is transitional, except whichever of the kids rise up like the williams bros, and maybe smart. this rebuild is far from done, we're in the middle of it not the end. we are going for multiple championships. we are going for a dynasty, not trying to catch lightning in a bottle. anyone not willing to see this thru can feel free to go walking out through that door.

False narrative.

Faster rebuild than expected? You are aware that danny was tearing this team down while miami was in the middle of their 4 back to back title appearances, no first round picks or picking at the end of the first and absolutely no cap right?

And yet, here we are with them having a better team than us 7 years later despite starting at such a huge disadvantage.

Why are we continuing to give out hall passes? This was a unequivocal disasterous result and everyone knows it.

The Heat have a better team, but not the better players. I am not sure how much of it actually is on the management.

[CalL]

Ainge has a lot of work to do.

This is all on him now and he better deliver.

No, it's not all on Ainge. There's lots on Ainge. But there's lots on Stevens' shoulders too. He was outcoached two series in a row.

Agreed. How did it take him so long to figure out how to play against the zone? Also how do you allow Smart to do whatever he wants offensively for the whole series?

[FlatearthZorro]

Obviously the biggest potential is on the center position, but i also think that so far neither Walker nor Hayward have shown that they are worth their money. I also think that Walker's defense is too much of a liability. Maybe the team could be improved by trying to trade one of them and get someone like Vucevic/Valanciunas/Ibaka/Turner? I think Theis is doing the best he can, but without a 3 point shot and a decent midrange jumper he is extremely limited offensively and also doesn't create any space for Jaylen/Jayson.

I would try to get the following roster for the next season:
Brown
Tatum
2 decent role players
One of the centers i mentioned

Smart
2 or 3 other good bench players

Guys like Rose, Bertans or Reddick might be interesting off the bench. I think this year the draft is pretty weak, so i would try to get something in return for the picks.

I've kinda liked Vuc for a while. I really thought he'd be a good fit here, brings a lot to the table, a lots of things we lack. Ibaka will be very hard to sign, dude has always been overpaid, he's a good role player, but he's been paid close to star money the past what 3 years? Turner would be fantastic, John Collins would be ideal.

[NYCelticsfan136]

Gotta love people making excuses for this bunch. Get out of here with that crap. They blew it plain and simple!!! Lousy stinking defense and jacking up 3s. Tatum needs to work on his post-game.

[jfs1000d]

You can talk about the coaching or anything else all day long but this team isn’t going anywhere until Danny addresses the $33M elephant in the room. We have a max contract player who can’t stay healthy and has impacted this playoff series significantly less than our $5M center.

Hayward got hurt. That isn’t an elephant in the room.

We didn’t lose this series because of hayward. In fact, when he plays well and is healthy, our ball movement is much better.


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[CalL]

Obviously the biggest potential is on the center position, but i also think that so far neither Walker nor Hayward have shown that they are worth their money. I also think that Walker's defense is too much of a liability. Maybe the team could be improved by trying to trade one of them and get someone like Vucevic/Valanciunas/Ibaka/Turner? I think Theis is doing the best he can, but without a 3 point shot and a decent midrange jumper he is extremely limited offensively and also doesn't create any space for Jaylen/Jayson.

I would try to get the following roster for the next season:
Brown
Tatum
2 decent role players
One of the centers i mentioned

Smart
2 or 3 other good bench players

Guys like Rose, Bertans or Reddick might be interesting off the bench. I think this year the draft is pretty weak, so i would try to get something in return for the picks.

I've kinda liked Vuc for a while. I really thought he'd be a good fit here, brings a lot to the table, a lots of things we lack. Ibaka will be very hard to sign, dude has always been overpaid, he's a good role player, but he's been paid close to star money the past what 3 years? Turner would be fantastic, John Collins would be ideal.

Of course Collins would be great, but there is no way in my opinion that Atlanta will trade him. I am not sure what Orlando is trying to do, but if they want to tank, then maybe they would trade Vucevic for Hayward + picks. The draft is pretty weak this year, so i wouldn't be too sad about giving away the picks.

[MagicBagley18]

To the how long does it take stevens to bear a zone crowd?.....you don’t think they had a game plan to beat this? yes they did. The players have to execute it. Look at game 6- we came out in the beginning and did the complete opposite of what won us game 5. We didn’t attack at all and shot way too many threes to start the game.

You don’t think the coaching staff- particularly stevens beat it into the players heads to attack attack attack or get in the paint and kick it outside? That that was what worked? you can give the players the game plan but they have to execute it.

There’s def ammo to criticize stevens- but the zone stuff isn’t all on him, the players need to implement the game plan too.

[Leprechaun18]

We just dont have the player leadership to be champions at this point. Hopefully this loss will burn inside some of our players and make them grow up. Theis was less effective in this series. Miami has a strong center and exposed some of his weaknesses. Hopefully the Timelord will get a fire and takeover the Center pos. He is getting closer to that time when he needs to produce if he wants a decent extension. You others have made some good points, so thats all I got. Happy draft and offseason.

[FlatearthZorro]

meh, the fire ainge/fire brad folks understand team building NOT AT ALL. the only thing our leadership has done wrong is have a faster rebuild than people expected and got people's hopes too far up this year. you played yourself if you ever thought this was a championship caliber team. very few people anywhere thought this was even an ECF team.

tatum/JB are our future. they are our leaders who need to grow into that role, but they aren't there yet. brad needs to grow as well.
everyone else is transitional, except whichever of the kids rise up like the williams bros, and maybe smart. this rebuild is far from done, we're in the middle of it not the end. we are going for multiple championships. we are going for a dynasty, not trying to catch lightning in a bottle. anyone not willing to see this thru can feel free to go walking out through that door.

False narrative.

Faster rebuild than expected? You are aware that danny was tearing this team down while miami was in the middle of their 4 back to back title appearances, no first round picks or picking at the end of the first and absolutely no cap right?

And yet, here we are with them having a better team than us 7 years later despite starting at such a huge disadvantage.

Why are we continuing to give out hall passes? This was a unequivocal disasterous result and everyone knows it.

The Heat have a better team, but not the better players. I am not sure how much of it actually is on the management.

I completely agree on that one. There aren't many coaches out there tho. The only two I'd change Stevens for right now is yours truly Jim Carrey and Popovich. There aren't that many good coaches out there.