Sometimes I think Brad Stevens went to the Milford School with Buster Bluth because he also has a real knack for being neither seen nor heard. Stevens is great at talking only when he has to and saying a lot that sounds like something but really doesn’t amount to very much.
But he found himself on WEEI this week, joining the Jones & Mego show during their Jimmy Fund marathon, answering questions on a few different topics.
Here’s the link to the full interview. Here are some choice quotes with my reactions:
On Marcus Smart’s departure changing the locker room dynamic:
“I think our locker room, we've been chock full of a lot of quality people for a long time, and that gives other people a voice. It gives other people a voice to step into and step up to and very obviously, we need Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen (Brown) to continue to grow in that area. And we think they're among the best that there can be. And so we need them to step up to that, but other people will have an opportunity to do so. Anytime that you have somebody that's played such a big role and has such a big personality, then that's options or opportunities for others to step into that. But he's a good one, and we'll miss him.”
Karalis’ take: The pressure is squarely on Tatum and Brown to own that locker room now. They could lean on Smart as the longest-tenured Celtic and a sort of team captain without officially being named one.
Now, Brown is the longest-tenured Celtic, and Tatum is right behind him while also being one of the faces of the entire NBA. Yes, Al Horford has some say, and he is the last man standing who can get into Brown and Tatum’s faces and challenge them should they need a kick in the pants. He’s still team dad, but Brown and Tatum are unequivocally the team leaders.
And honestly, that's an underrated and maybe necessary part of the Smart trade. As one of the city’s staunchly pro-Smart voices, I can admit I overlooked this aspect of the trade. Without Smart, Brown and Tatum are pushed to the front of the room. They have to take all the media bullets on bad days and find ways to pull more out of their teammates.
“Obviously, we need Jayson and Jaylen to continue to grow in that area,” means they're not there yet, but they’d better get there soon.
There have been a lot of “are they good leaders?” type of stories over the years. This is now the most that question has mattered.
On Kristaps Porzingis suffering from plantar fasciitis:
“Yeah, I'm not concerned about that … we were with him in the 10 days, our training staff was with him in the 10 days, as he was diagnosed with plantar fascia. He went through all the progressions, he really tried to ramp up and play, and just determined, like, ‘I don't want to deal with lingering effects down the road.’ And so this is something that we should be able to navigate and manage in the next few weeks and be ready for training camp. We're planning on having him on day one of training camp.”
[...]
“From a sports science perspective, and from our own physical therapists and the leader of our sports performance group, Phil Coles -- like they're as good as I've been around at navigating and managing it and really being able to say like, ‘if we do this now we'll be in good shape.’”
Karalis’ take: It’s just like I’ve said before. On the surface, I’m not worried too much about a guy with plantar fasciitis in August, especially when he’s said he’s fine walking and otherwise and it’s just an issue during workouts.
If that's truly the case, then rest and rehab should do the trick.
But just as I’ve been saying from the start, when a newly signed 7’3” guy who plays a perimeter style of basketball is experiencing any sort of lower-body injury or ailment, the concern meter runs higher than usual.
I’m satisfied with Stevens’ phrasing of his answers. He avoided the general deflections that you’d hear if this was worse than anticipated. My concern level would be a zero with someone else, and it’s still higher than that here until I see that he's 100% with my own eyes, but I’m still satisfied with Stevens’ answer.
On his expectations of Joe Mazzulla in year two:
“First of all, I thought he did a really good job. Listen, winning 57 games in the NBA is really hard. And it's not like we were healthy the whole time. He didn't get a chance to really work our big lineup like the year before, where we were really rolling headed into the playoffs, until about 35 or 40 games left in the season.
“At that time, we were managing both Al (Horford) and (Robert Williams’) minutes. So he didn't get a chance to, to really, really coach that group in the way that he probably would have wanted to. Obviously, it was unique circumstances to take over in that way. And he did a really good job.
And then the reality is, when you coach in the NBA -- it was funny. I had a guy from college call me and he said he was going to interview for one of these open jobs. And he said ‘what do you think?’ I just said, ‘Well, if you make the Final Four in college, everybody's gonna talk about how great you are. Make the final four in the NBA after each loss, you’re a bum…
“I knew what was coming in some ways. I didn't expect us to have a bad week as a team in May the way that we did. But, hey, Jayson, Jaylen, Joe, those guys are gonna get praise and they're gonna get a lot of scrutiny and that's just the way it goes.”
Karalis’ take: I think the stuff about not coaching Rob and Al together early on is very valid.
Let’s be honest here: A coach with experience coaching Robert Williams would have had a better handle on how, when, and where to use him than Mazzulla. Starting Williams helped save the Celtics against Philadelphia, and maybe using him in that role earlier could have saved Boston a couple of losses.
Beyond that, the big lineup just felt taboo to Mazzulla, who was very set in his five-out, 3-point heavy style. He had no experience playing any other way as a head coach, and the early success without Williams in the lineup obviously colored his opinion on how to use Rob overall.
Yes, Mazzulla was always going to be open to scrutiny, and some of it was certainly earned over the course of the season. I think having Williams healthy from the start will be a big deal, as will the summer to get a plan together for this upcoming season.
The planning part is important. Instead of just trying to hold onto the controls and keep the team steady, he can figure out plans A, B, C, and beyond if necessary.
Calling Mazzulla a bum last season was a bit unfair in my opinion. If he gets back to the final four and doesn’t emerge as the fine one, then the criticism might be a little more on point.
