Isaiah Thomas will have some company when he heads to New Orleans for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. On Friday, it was announced that Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens would lead the Eastern Conference team as well as his assistants in Boston. The Celtics coaching staff will take on the Steve Kerr-led Western Conference All-Stars on February 19th.
The way the NBA typically selects the head coaches for either All-Star team is simple. Whichever coach whose team has the top spot in their respective conference, usually gets the nod. The Celtics are currently #2 in the East behind the Cavaliers, coached by Tyronn Lue. The Cleveland coach led the Eastern All-Stars last season which makes him ineligible to do so this year.
The news broke as the Celtics were taking care of the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. A win which separated the Celtics franchise for the most in NBA history. Jae Crowder chimed in after hearing the news saying, “We’re excited for [our coaches]. They put in endless hours and time to make sure that we are ready to go out there and compete and they deserve it.”
Brad Stevens was quick to accept the honor in a humble manner, as he would be known to do so. “I think none of us are crazy enough to think you get there without really good players, and the players certainly carry the coaches,” Stevens said.
Stevens has coached the team to a 32-18 record, the fifth-best in the league. The Celtics have gotten their offense into a rhythm behind Stevens as well as they rank 7th in the NBA in points-per-game (108.3). The Celtics are also winners of six straight and sit just two games behind the Cavaliers for the top spot in the East.
There are only seven more games until we see Stevens and Thomas take the court in New Orleans. Until then, the Celtics will look to keep the wins coming when they take on the Clippers on Super Bowl Sunday.
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