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.
Two seasons and a big contract removed from his time as a Celtic, Evan Turner still appreciates what Brad Stevens did for him.
“Most of my career coaches sat me in a corner and tried to make me shoot jumpers when I grew up playing a different way,” the Blazers forward said recently of the Celtics coach. “Each game in general (Stevens) always told me I’m going to look at you for what you can do, and not what everybody thinks you can’t do.:
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Coach Stevens studies the game a lot, so when he has 13 players he figures out how to help every last one of those players to be successful,” he said, bringing up the name of Celtics rookie Guerschon Yabusele. “He got four or five shots up the last time we played them. You see (Abdel) Nader and you see Terry (Rozier) prospering. The young guys, Brown and Tatum, are doing their thing. He’s got a lot of great sets where they can count on where they’re going to get their shots night in and night out.”
“He gets the best out of everybody,” said Ojeleye. “A lot of guys say their careers wouldn’t be the same without him. The rookies, we know it. He gets us big-time minutes in big-time games and it helps. We gain confidence and trust in ourselves.”
Stevens, whose name may be more a part of Coach of the Year discussion this season than any other, has certainly put his coaching chops on display during the team’s current four-game winning streak, including a 3-0 start to their current four-game jaunt through the Western Conference.
Jordan Crawford. Evan Turner. Jae Crowder. Isaiah Thomas. The list of players who have excelled/peaked under Brad Stevens continues to grow every year.
But the team’s success this season amid a flurry of devastating injuries to critical players should make Stevens the definitive favorite for NBA Coach of the Year.
Boston gets to 50 wins, with Hayward out the whole season and Kyrie at only 60 games, on March 25. Incredible season.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 26, 2018
You hear names like Mike D’Antoni, Dwane Casey, Brett Brown and Quin Snyder in COY debates.
D’Antoni has the Rockets playing at a very high level and CP3 has missed 20+ games. But can you really give a guy the award two years in a row when he has the likely MVP on his team? Casey has the Raptors exactly where they’ve been the last 4 seasons (high 40s, low to mid 50s win total). Brown and Snyder have had good, not great seasons.
NO ONE expected Boston to land the 2nd seed in the East after Hayward’s injury. Some (Sports Illustrated) had them 3rd with Hayward. Add now Boston is beating teams w/o Irving and Smart.
Spare me the East is easy nonsense. The Celtics are 6-2 vs the top 4 seeds in the West (Hou, GS, POR, OKC).
Brad Stevens is Coach of the Year. Period.
On Page 2, Kevin Love will spend some time today with the dentist.
See, the tooth is supposed to stay IN the mouth.
This is gonna be a problem for Kevin Love’s next Banana Republic commercial shoot. This also a problem for the Cavaliers, who say he will not return for this game vs Miami. pic.twitter.com/ICuAl0FUWd— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) March 28, 2018
The rest of the links
NBC Boston – Potential Playoff Foes | Mass Live – Mailbag: Smart’s future, Rozier’s rise
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