We often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics. Here’s a look at some enemy chatter from Oklahoma city.
Can I just say how much I love Brad Stevens? I think he’s awesome. Truly. BUT, the overwhelming slurping of him gets on my nerves a bit, especially when you see the double standard going on. I don’t believe the Celtics scored out of a timeout a single time tonight. One in particular, right before halftime, Westbrook stole the inbound and nearly hit a 3 at the buzzer with 2.8 seconds left. Imagine that would’ve been Donovan, or some other coach without a strong reputation on the internet. They would’ve been killed for it. But since Stevens is a darling, no one even notices.
Looks like this blogger is a bit sensitive about Billy Donovan. Now I don’t recall the exact play referenced here, but I’m pretty sure it’s unfair to criticize any coach (even Byron Scott or Kurt Rambis) for a stolen pass unless he orders the player to make the pass under all circumstances.
Brad might be over-hyped but there’s no denying his success with play-calling. The Celtics rank in the top 10 for ATO efficiency. Mike Gorman shared this gem in the latest Rainin’ Js podcast:
“…in the first year, there was a time out and Brad drew up a play and they’re walking out of the huddle and these two guys looked at each other and said ‘that’s a high school play, man. That’s not gonna work’ and they ran it and it worked. About two weeks later, same thing, another play, they look at each other and say ‘I can’t believe this guy keeps drawing up these high school plays’ and it worked. And now the same player says ‘we don’t question anything anymore we just do what we’re told.'”
You know why high school plays work in the NBA? Because despite all the athleticism in the league, there still isn’t a player who can outrun a crisp pass. It also doesn’t hurt that a lot of guys are lazy on defense. Just look at this James Harden gem.
As for the Daily Thunder’s take on the Kevin Durant to Boston talk:
Boston fans — and media — are growing incredibly thirsty for Durant. They chanted “Come to Boston!” in the third quarter. Durant shrugged it off. “I didn’t even hear that man. Promise. I couldn’t understand what they were saying. They said that? I don’t know. No thoughts, really. I’m just happy we won.”
KD heard it. Trust me, he heard it.
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