MookieMonstah Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 IT was an awful defender because of size limitations, not effort level. Was Stevens supposed to make IT grow 5 inches? Brown and Scott are trash coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resilient part 2 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 5 hours ago, 1ForTheThumb said: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/isaiah-thomas-trade-celtics-cavaliers/ Going to miss Isaiah, great piece. Good read indeed. I was wondering how this all went down between Ainge and IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buno67 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 2 hours ago, MookieMonster said: IT was an awful defender because of size limitations, not effort level. Was Stevens supposed to make IT grow 5 inches? Brown and Scott are trash coaches. So when guards would blow right by him, that was purely size limitation, not the effort to stay in front of his man. IT had no issue getting to a spot to get his shot off but struggled to get to his spot to properly cut of a drive or to stay in front of his man? thats right, Irving has played 6years in the lead and has never once been pushed to play defense. Playing for titles didnt motivate him but you know what, that Brad Stevens, he will get him to play defense 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2ThaIzzo Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 14 hours ago, MookieMonster said: IT was an awful defender because of size limitations, not effort level. Was Stevens supposed to make IT grow 5 inches? Brown and Scott are trash coaches. If you truly believe that Stevens can get Kyrie to play anything that portrays good defense, you probably also believe that the Earth is flat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MookieMonstah Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 lol @buno67 you clearly didn't watch many Celtics games. Would IT be a great defender if he was 6'3? No, but he would be above average. He rarely got blown by, no more than most PGs. He's just microscopic and can't alter a shot at all. @H2ThaIzzo at what point did I say he'd get Kyrie to play GOOD defense? Average defense would be a massive step up at the position, and with Kyries athleticism its easily doable. He just needs the effort level, which a great coach can get out of players. Why do you think so many guys improve on both ends of the court for Pop? The system is great, but they also buy in and play his game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mox Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 It's just not gonna happen dude. He's going suck defensively for the rest of his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MookieMonstah Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Sound logic. Great coaches tend to bring the best out of players. Am I saying Kyrie is guaranteed to become an average defender? No. What I'm saying is I like his chances of that happening under Brad Stevens much more than under Lue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWood21 Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share Posted September 7, 2017 52 minutes ago, MookieMonster said: Sound logic. Great coaches tend to bring the best out of players. Am I saying Kyrie is guaranteed to become an average defender? No. What I'm saying is I like his chances of that happening under Brad Stevens much more than under Lue. That's not really saying much. That doesn't change the fact that up until this point, Kyrie hasn't shown a willingness to be an even average defender and given his stature in the league I don't think that a change in head coach is going to make him overhaul his perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2ThaIzzo Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 7 hours ago, MookieMonster said: Sound logic. Great coaches tend to bring the best out of players. Am I saying Kyrie is guaranteed to become an average defender? No. What I'm saying is I like his chances of that happening under Brad Stevens much more than under Lue. Did I miss something? When did Brad Stevens get tossed up onto this pedestal of "Amazing" coaches? He has had one season where his team won more than 50 games in the regular season. One season where his team won a playoff series. And you used Pop as a comparison? Mmmkay. I'm so glad that Stevens defensive ferociousness will allow Kyrie to become an average defender. His defensive prowess was so evident when it mattered, the postseason, where Boston gave up .2 less PPG than Cleveland did. Stevens is the best 50% winning percentage coach in the world currently. He had major competition with Jeff Fisher for that award, but then Jeff got fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iothar Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 5 hours ago, H2ThaIzzo said: Did I miss something? When did Brad Stevens get tossed up onto this pedestal of "Amazing" coaches? He has had one season where his team won more than 50 games in the regular season. One season where his team won a playoff series. And you used Pop as a comparison? Mmmkay. I'm so glad that Stevens defensive ferociousness will allow Kyrie to become an average defender. His defensive prowess was so evident when it mattered, the postseason, where Boston gave up .2 less PPG than Cleveland did. Stevens is the best 50% winning percentage coach in the world currently. He had major competition with Jeff Fisher for that award, but then Jeff got fired. Not saying he is amazing, but he's a top 5 coach in the NBA (IE #5). He is definitely better than Cleveland's if your making that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mox Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 (edited) 15 hours ago, MookieMonster said: Sound logic. Great coaches tend to bring the best out of players. Am I saying Kyrie is guaranteed to become an average defender? No. What I'm saying is I like his chances of that happening under Brad Stevens much more than under Lue. Yeah because no great coach has ever had a guy lack effort defensively under them...oh wait. The burden of proof is on you since you're expecting this to happen despite 6 hard years of sample size telling you something completely different. It's like you've never watched the guy play or you think Stevens is the GOAT. I mean can you name one guy who got a heavier offensive workload AND improved defensively? I'm guessing not. Edited September 8, 2017 by Bullet Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-ALL-DAY Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 You guys are wasting way too much energy debating about Kyrie and his defense. He will never be a good defender. But that's fine as long as he is competent enough in big moments. I think he can be that. More so than anything, what should be debated is if he could take his all around game to another level. That is what will decide the Celtics fate this year and beyond. He's an average playmaker at the moment, but can he some how become a good playmaker? Because in terms of scoring, very few could do it like he can. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iothar Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 38 minutes ago, Bullet Club said: Yeah because no great coach has ever had a guy lack effort defensively under them...oh wait. The burden of proof is on you since you're expecting this to happen despite 6 hard years of sample size telling you something completely different. It's like you've never watched the guy play or you think Stevens is the GOAT. I mean can you name one guy who got a heavier offensive workload AND improved defensively? I'm guessing not. Butler when he made his leap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-ALL-DAY Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 I wouldn't say Butler became a better defender once his workload increased. He came into the league as a pretty damn good defender and still is one. If anything, his defense has slipped a bit the last few years once he became a star on the offensive end. Same goes for Paul George. LeBron really improved his defense the last few years in Cleveland his first go around and had the same offensive workload he's always had. In Miami it became a bit easier with Wade taking care of some of the play making so he continued being a great defender in those early years. But the overall point stands. Rarely if ever do players become better defenders once their offensive workload increases. Just doesn't happen all that often. And it would be crazy to expect Kyrie to become a good defender at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2ThaIzzo Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 5 hours ago, iothar said: Not saying he is amazing, but he's a top 5 coach in the NBA (IE #5). He is definitely better than Cleveland's if your making that point. Congrats on your 5th overall ranked HC. That's a major award to be proud of. Again, I give him props. He is the best .500 record coach in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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