Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here, highlighting the big story line… because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“I think he observes a lot better,” Bryant said, as transcribed by Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Mannix. “He observes the game, the flow of the game. And tendencies. He can look at players and their tendencies. And then you can file that away.
That last play (in Game 3), I had to laugh. He just pulled everybody up. It was prime misdirection. Al Horford just held … he just vacated the backside. If you simply put everybody there, it’s a dead giveaway for what’s going to happen. He used Philly’s aggressiveness and youth against them. He knew they were going to be aggressive defensively, he knew they were going to overplay, and now you have Horford on the backside. He’s able to look at the game and make adjustments on the fly. He’s a great coach, man.”
“To be able to see the game like that requires a lot of film study. Watching film over and over and over. Studying over and over and over. To then be able to observe things in real time. That can only be done by a person who has that level of commitment to the game. Which I’m sure he does.”
Classic Kobe.
The Mamba heaps a ton of praise on Brad Stevens for his insight and his work ethic…. while simultaneously saying, “I knew what was coming all along.”
While Stevens is receiving all sorts of praise, 76ers coach Brett Brown got skewered by Stephen A. Smith:
“This is the first time in my professional career coaching, you know covering the NBA, that I’ve seen a coach lose all three games in a playoff series,” Smith said. “Game 1, they were ill-prepared. Game 2, that second quarter you threw the game away by being up 19 with 3:43 left in the first half and you let them go on a run to close it to within five. You call no timeouts, you make no substitutions, you don’t slow the pace, you don’t get the ball inside to Joel Embiid and you don’t sub in anybody like a Markelle Fultz. “Tonight, Philadelphia, Game 3, turnover prone,” Smith continued. “At the end of regulation, why do you have a shooter in J.J. Redick trying to make a point guard decision? He’s the one who’s supposed to be receiving the ball not looking to make the pass. Why didn’t you get the ball down low to Joel Embiid more? Why is he 17 and 19-feet away from the basket in pick-and-roll situations? Why kind of sense does that make?
Yikes.
Me thinks Stephen A. is going a bit easy on the Sixers players.
On Page 2, Aron Baynes’ shooting is pulling out Joel Embiid.
Entering the postseason, Baynes had made just 4 of 28 3-pointers (14.3 percent) over a total of 402 regular-season and playoff games. But in the first 10 games of these playoffs, he is 6 for 11 from beyond the arc.
“It just puts a second thought in that defender’s mind,” Celtics assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “If a guy’s not shooting them at all, the defender has no concerns about just leaving him and going to block shots and protect the rim. Now, he’s got to at least think about it. Earlier in the series, Embiid was like a foot in the lane, and now he’s at least two feet out and creeping more towards Baynes. And now our guys are getting more toward the basket.”
I’ll be honest, up until the Bucks series, I would cringe every time Aron Baynes launched a three-pointer.
But that’s why I’m a dope and Brad Stevens is coaching the Celtics.
And while simpletons are hooting-and-hollering about Joel Embiid’s posterizing dunks, Stevens and the rest of the Celtics are are quietly enjoying the lasting effects of Baynes’ shooting.
Related link: Herald – Baynes makes real plays, not highlight reels | Pick-and-Roll – 3 ways Baynes’ versatility benefiting Celtics
ESPN – Tatum says Embiid trash talk a joke | Globe – Barry Larkin impressed by son’s play | Herald – Through it all, Horford a calming force | NBC – Rozier adds big road performance to resume
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