BGleas

Didn't we just spend 4 years complaining about how IU never played hard or with urgency and intensity? I mean, IU mailed it in against Purdue on Bob Knight's triumphant return to Assembly Hall.

That Denver-Portland 2OT game last night was better then any college I watched this season.

I would add Kara Lawson to the list of candidates for the Celtics. Heard great things about her when she was a Celtics assistant.

NBA teams typically play fairly deep benches as they games are longer and there are 82 of them so guys need rest. But in the playoffs that changes. The rotations get tighter and if bench/role guys aren't performing their minutes go down and the starters minutes go up. You're missing some phenomenal basketball.

Calipari right now...

You bring up some great and really interesting points. And, I wholeheartedly agree that the issue is something that needs to be addressed, especially at the front office level as well. I don't disagree with Steven A whatsoever, I just think when you pick a situation that really isn't applicable then you tend to lose peoples attention on what is a really important issue. Really interesting points though on former players not needing the money, being interested in more profitable ventures, etc., etc. There is no denying that it is infinitely more difficult for a black person that isn't a former player to become a coach or GM than it is for a white person.

It was interesting to see Max Kellerman push back on Steven A on this one. I don't disagree with Steven A. as a general point, but this particular situation seems like an odd hill to stand on. This was a hire from within and a coach in Stevens who had potentially been getting groomed for this by Ainge. If this was a situation where Stevens resigned from the Celtics to go be the President of Basketball Ops for say the Clippers or the Trailblazers (just pulling random teams) with no front office experience, then I could at least understand where Steven A is coming from. But everyone pretty much universally understands that Stevens is a top basketball mind and that this was a hire from within that had been groomed for the position. Edit: I didn't listen to the entire thing, but did Steven A mention that James Jones went straight from playing to being named VP of Basketball Ops for the Phoenix Suns? So, these things are happening.

Most fans are idiots. Painting Stevens and Ainge as anything other than very successful is ridiculous. Ainge brought a championship and it really should have been 2-3 championships had KG and Perk (hurt knee in game 6 of the Finals in 2010) stayed healthy. He then engineered a turnaround that most thought would take years post the "Big 3" and they only missed the playoffs once and made the ECF 3-4 more times. Stevens also was incredibly successful. He often out-coached his roster. A few of his teams had no business making the ECF, and they were never rosters that people thought could legitimately win the title. He helped guys turn their careers around (IT, Evan Turner, Jae Crowder, etc.). You can say he had two "down" years (2018-19 and 2020-21) with one being railroaded by Kyrie and the other being railroaded by Covid (the Celtics were hit as bad as any team) and injuries. He should have been coach of the year at least once if not twice. I think wanting them gone is crazy.

No clue yet. I need to take a look at the realistic candidates. I've heard names like Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd (no thanks), Juwan Howard (works for me on multiple levels 🤣)) and a few others, but it's a little early.

I honestly don't think he wanted out of coaching, but I think he was a little burnt out after the bubble and then the challenges of this season. I think he also felt the team maybe needed a new voice, but he loves the Celtics and Boston and didn't want to leave. I also think Wyc (the owner) wanted to make a move but didn't want to pay Stevens a $28M buyout if he fired him. I don't think this is necessarily a promotion for Stevens, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him coaching another team after next season. Like I've said, I thought he would eventually replace Ainge, but the not coaching part to me is really strange.

Haha! Yeah, I called this during IU's search that Stevens would be more likely to take over for Ainge then come back to coach college. The part I'm shocked about is that it happened so soon and that he's not coaching anymore. Ainge built a really great bball ops department, so I thought Stevens would be in a Popovich role where the front office runs on an engine and he remains the coach while making the big decisions. I'm surprised Stevens is stepping away from coaching.

Nevermind, he is taking over as head of BBall Ops.

The GIF is just for fun, but during the IU coaching search I said it was more likely that Stevens would eventually replace Ainge than it would be for him to come back to coaching college. I admit, I'm shocked it was this soon, but with that said Woj's tweet seems really vague with "...on a full-time role." You'd think it would be more specific to replace Ainge and become President of Bball Ops. I also thought when Stevens made that move that he would remain as coach. It seems odd that some his age that seemingly loves to coach would step away from the sideline.

Probably an unpopular take, at least for the networks and media, but wouldn't mind seeing the Lakers out in the first round and the Nets losing to the Bucks. They're not the sexy teams, but Phoenix, Utah, Denver or Portland, Milwaukee and Atlanta are all fun to watch. I would love to see some combination of Utah, Phoenix, Denver or Portland in the Finals against Milwaukee.

Yeah, there are a lot of guys either out or just minimized with nagging injuries. I'd suspect the short layoff from the bubble didn't help.

Lillard is 12 of 17 from 3 with 2:25 left in 2OT. A lot of players can't go 12 of 17 from the free throw line. Lillard is insane.

Damian Lillard is out of his mind right now.

Yeah. I'm watching the last few minutes of Denver-Portland and you wonder how far Denver could go with Jamal Murray, then of course you have AD out and Chris Paul hobbled in that series. Even look at the East too, Boston was missing Brown and Kemba, Embid is now hurt, Milwaukee lost DiVincenzo, etc.

Oh for sure, that would be a lopsided trade. Boston would have to throw more in, but unfortunately for the league its a situation of a small market team needing to get something in return and not many teams are going to hand Minnesota a young all-star that averages 24-25ppg.

LeBron can win you a Game 7 by himself at this point in his career, but not sure he can win you 2 out of 3.

I'm going off memory not stats, but I feel like he cleaned up the fouling this year a bit, and it's something that will get better with experience.

No, in 2021 he's a center. He is closer to 6'9" but he's got great length and is ultra athletic. He's a shot blocker and rebounder, and can switch defensively onto perimeter guys. Agree on the roster balance though. Boston has way too many wings, and while Kemba seems like a great guy and teammate, he's an undersized pg with a bad knee that is a defensively liability. They need to move him.

They've all been weird nagging injuries, nothing major. He was already breaking out this year before the turf toe hurt him. He'll be the starter next year (he had already taken over the starter role the end of this season) and be really good as long as he stays healthy.

Agree on Kemba, Danny needs to find a way to move that salary. I wouldn't trade Jaylen Brown for Turner/Warren, and I don't think any GM in the NBA would. The Pacers would have to throw in a couple first round picks or get a 3rd team involved. Brown is already a star. I think the guy Boston would initially target in a Brown trade would be KAT. In that deal Boston would have to sweeten the pot, but how long is KAT going to be happy in Minnesota? But regardless, if they move Brown it will be for another all-star caliber player. As much as I love Jaylen Brown, I do agree that he and Tatum probably don't fit long term, unless you have a really strong lead point guard (distributor type) to go with them. I love the Lowry idea and even Ball as well.

Cool to see Langford have 17 tonight. I'm mixed on his NBA potential because he seems not only limited offensively, but also fairly content to not be involved on that end. But in his defense, this offseason will be his first healthy offseason in at least 2 years, so hopefully he can regain his offensive prowess and come back a more complete player. He does some really good things out there and can be a solid contributor, but he's going to have to average more than 2ppg and score/finish much, much better.