3 takeaways from Brad Stevens' appearance on the Vertical podcast

Brad Stevens has had a lot on his plate this summer, but he still managed to catch up with Chris Mannix of the Vertical Podcast on Monday to discuss a variety of topics in what was a terrific 45 minute conversation. The head coach revealed a number of important nuggets during the back and forth, so let’s dissect a few of those and examine what they might mean for the Celtics going forward.

1. Isaiah Thomas still hasn’t been cleared for training camp.

Stevens on when Isaiah will be ready: “He has another follow-up [appointment] and another scan in the early part of September when he arrives back here out east, and from there we will know an exact timeline. Obviously, it’s been a lot of appropriate rest, a lot of rehab. There have been some good strides here certainly in the last month or few weeks, but we’re not going to know that until after that early September timeframe.

Stevens on what’s important for Isaiah: “We want what’s best for Isaiah. We want to make sure that when he is ready to roll, which hopefully is sooner rather than later, that he is ready to roll at his highest level and for the longest possible time, obviously, right? So that’s a lot more important to me than anything else.”

Takeaway: Despite Isaiah Thomas insisting earlier this summer that he’s right on schedule, this doesn’t sound great. Danny Ainge downplayed the comments to CSNNE.com later on Monday, insisting that his recovery is on a good timeline and that there should be no added concern.

I’m sure that’s what the Celtics are hopeful of at this point, but it’s fair to wonder a little bit more about all of this, particularly when Shane Larkin was brought into the fold as a 16th guaranteed contract on the roster back in July. Larkin may provide some extra insurance at the point guard spot in a relatively undermanned backcourt (if Thomas does have to miss any time). We’ll take Ainge’s word on this right now, but it’s an area to continue to monitor as training camp approaches.

2. Stevens wants Jaylen Brown to become a lockdown defender

Stevens quote: "Jaylen has to become a lockdown defender for us. That's where, as you go into an offseason and you are an individual player, there's a ton of things that you want to get better at, and there's a ton of things you want to add to your game, but ultimately, when you get back to your team, it's what do you do that's different to make your team unique to give yourself the best chance of adding value to winning. We need him to become that. … He works hard. He's going to continue to be good at that stuff, but especially with losing Avery, it's going to be really important that Jaylen takes the next step defensively."

Takeaway: I touched on this topic a couple weeks back when writing about one of the C’s starting lineup possibilities for the coming season. I believe Brown will have an opportunity to win a starting job out of training camp and comments like these from Stevens make it sound like the Celtics will be looking for that from him as well. Outside of Marcus Smart, the Celtics really don’t have players with the size/speed to defend 2s well in the backcourt. If the 20-year-old can improve his defensive awareness and IQ, he has the physical tools to be one of Stevens’ top options on that front. If not, the Celtics are going to be vulnerable in this area against talented backcourts.

3. Stevens is still raving about Jayson Tatum’s defense

Stevens quote: "I was really impressed with and almost pleasantly surprised by his defensive ability. I thought he did a good job of keeping guys in front. I thought he did a good job of using his length and guarding a number of different positions. ...I wanted to see how he would pick up what we are trying to do defensively, how his length would impact others, how he would pick up the off-the-ball schemes, and I thought he did a pretty good job."

Takeaway: The one thing that kept Jaylen Brown’s minutes inconsistent during his rookie season I believe was his up-and-down play on D, so it’s notable already to see Stevens continue to compliment Tatum in that area. Clearly, he’s bringing a lot more to the table on the offensive end from a skillset standpoint than Brown out of the gate, so the question is whether he can hold his own against NBA 3s and 4s when the real games begin. Tatum’s definitely going to be a plus from a defensive rebounding standpoint, but the biggest area to watch with the No. 3 overall pick during training camp is whether his defensive progress remains ahead of schedule.