"I'll Get Over Tough Losses When I'm Dead" - Brad Stevens
Safe to say Brad has been feeling the heat after these last two collapses, as he should. The one thing I do continue to love about Brad though is he’s always honest whether things are going great or things seem like a complete disaster. You aren’t going to get those cliche answers that many coaches give in these situations and that’s certainly refreshing. If you want to watch the whole post practice press conference you can watch it here
If you’re at work or in class or something and can’t watch it, a few things stood out to me
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This plays into my blog from earlier and I’m glad to see Brad is on the same page. The drama and all that is fine for Twitter and talk radio, but it’s not what’s important. What’s important is guys not doing what they need to do and that’s what Brad cares about. Sort of like not playing defense. Happy that he’s able to block out the bullshit and focus on what’s important.
Could not agree more. The players share responsibility sure, but anyone who has watched this team knows Brad has not been holding up his part. This team repeatedly comes out flat in third quarters, they play with low energy and effort all too frequently, and for me that comes right back to the coach. My question is what does this mean moving forward. Does this mean pulling a guy who isn’t playing well no matter what? We’ve seen him be slow taking out certain guys who just don’t have it on any given night or maybe isn’t playing the right way, so I’d be curious to see what this actually means.
Love this answer. You want to have fun? Play better. So simple yet so true. I also love how he basically admitted the boos were valid given their performance on Saturday. This felt like a Belichick answer to me, another guy who has had to answer questions about his team having fun. You know what they find fun? Winning. Play well and win and guess what, you’ll be having fun.
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Never have I felt more connected to our fearless leader. Because guess what, I too don’t get over tough losses while my heart is still beating. You think I’m over Game 7 in 2010? Or Game 6 in 2012? Hell you think I’m over losing this season to the Knicks at home back in November? No chance. Much like Brad does I wish I could get over these things and not let them make me mad but I can’t change who I am. So it was reassuring to know that I’m not alone with that, and if Brad doesn’t give a shit about Mooks comments then why should we?
Look, all these quotes can sound great, but unfortunately it only matters if we actually see a change. He talked after the game Saturday about his rotations in the second and third quarters, and now today we have him talking about holding his team to a higher standard. We’ll see tomorrow just how well he does in living up to his words. I think we as Celtics fans need to see Brad prove to us that he hasn’t lost the locker room and he is doing his part to turn around this little skid. Tomorrow against Philly just so happens to be the perfect time.