This much has long been clear: Brad Stevens doesn't like when the media focuses on him. But when you look at the way his teams have consistently overachieved—I mean, they're up 2-0 on LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals without their two biggest stars—it's hard not to praise Stevens.
Stevens' acclaim has recently become a subject of debate among basketball fans and journalists, with the hoops community wondering: Does Stevens receive too much credit?
Brian Scalabrine, a longtime Celtic and current TV analyst of the team, thinks giving Stevens all the praise for the Celtics' achievements this year is "a little disrespectful to the players." He shared his perspective in an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show.
"He's a great coach and he puts guys in a great position, but I feel like it's a little demeaning when people don't give credit to the players," Scalabrine explained. "As good of a coach as Brad Stevens is ... I think it's a little disrespectful to the players when they win, all the credit goes to Brad. The credit should go to the players who do the work day in and day out."
Patrick asked about General Manager Danny Ainge, who has done a masterful job turning around the roster—doesn't he deserve more credit, too? Scalabrine agreed—the whole organization deserves credit for its success.
"I think in the Celtics organization, you can look from ownership down. Ownership has to sign off on an Isaiah [Thomas] trade for Kyrie Irving, they have to know that Kyrie's going to be a $37, $38-million dollar player somewhere down the road and then you're giving up a pick. Danny Ainge has to convince them, 'this is the way to go, Kyrie's a special player.' Danny Ainge [and] the ownership has to sign off on trading away your two Hall of Fame players who just brought a championship for all these Brooklyn picks that are coming your way. And then you've got to pick the right guys along the way ... everyone has to be on the same page."
The Celtics lead Cleveland 2-0. They'll match up in Cleveland for Game 3 Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
