playa-hater wrote:ParticleMan wrote:playa-hater wrote:I am still so sick of Stevens NOT giving Nesmith a LEGIT chance all year long. All year long no one understood the value of playing time = (experience + in game reps) = confidence = better PRODUCTION.
This disaster of a coach gave minutes to players like Edwards-Semi-J Green -blah blah blah, when it was so obvious that they weren't anything more than end of bench/G-league level talents.
And no one can say Nesmith developed due to the many practices and game minutes. He only played due to a ton of losing with non productive scrubs and injuries. Damn if it were not for injuries and missed time Nesmith would not even had this chance.
The more quality games I see Nesmith play, the more I despise Brad Stevens.
he SUCKED earlier in the year when he got minutes. people were openly wondering whether he was a bust. that wasn't brad's fault. he was a 3 and D guy who couldn't hit the 3 and couldn't defend.
it wasn't brad stevens who suddenly wised up.
it was nesmith who actually got better. shockingly, that happens with young players. giving guys undeserved minutes is not only a terrible way to develop players, it is terrible for team morale. now that nesmith is playing well, he's getting minutes. funny how that works.
And how do you suppose he got better? his non practices?? his watching from the sidelines? It really amazes me that you would rather believe everything Stevens does is Right, even when the evidence is insurmountable in my opinion.
not sure if you realize this, but nba players aren't sitting around playing xbox until 30 minutes before a game, suit up, play, and go home. that's not actually how it works, this isn't semi-pro. during the day they are working on their game, watching film, shooting, working with coaches, working out, etc etc. this is their job. getting better doesn't only happen when you're watching them on tv. in fact, it mostly doesn't happen then, it happens behind the scenes, especially for younger guys.
for player development, the record shows that stevens does quite well. he brings guys along, and they get better. it happens with top guys like tatum and brown, it happens with late-round projects like timelord. stevens is pretty good at getting players to maximize their talent, but it takes patience. the evidence for this is that when players leave, they don't suddenly "blossom" elsewhere. stevens has a very solid track record of developing young guys. the picks who have failed haven't failed because of stevens, it's not like they've done better anywhere else.
i get that nesmith is your binky. that's great, we all have them. but at least be self-aware about this. realize that when nesmith is getting minutes while sucking, this could be minutes that could be going for instance to romeo. why doesn't romeo get a chance to develop too? why should romeo be benched when he's playing better than nesmith? that was the situation not even that long ago. now it's not. and even semi. if semi is playing better than nesmith, why shouldn't he play? we're not some lottery team (well, at least that wasn't our aspiration this year), we are trying to win games and compete. playing binkies when they're sucking isn't a good strategy if you want to win games. even giving them 10 minutes can turn a game, the margin between winning and losing on any given night is slim. you play the guys who will help you win. brad isn't the GM, it's not his job to think about two years from now.
lastly, i have criticized stevens plenty, if you've read my posts you'd know that. i think he has lost touch with this team, frankly. he is on the hot seat in my book, if not this year (if only for covid/injuries) then certainly next year. while i think he's generally a good coach, he's good at some things but not so good at others. i'm not a brad worshipper. don't strawman me on this.