Brad Stevens is known for being mild mannered on the sidelines, but the Boston Celtics head coach apparently developed a mean streak this season.
Speaking with the media Friday, Celtics guard Avery Bradley revealed Stevens made strides in not being so nice to his players.
Avery Bradley says Brad Stevens' greatest growth is not being so nice to players. "Come on coach, yell at somebody."
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@ASherrodblakely) May 26, 2017
Avery on how Brad has changed: "I know this sounds weird but I think his anger. He was so nice his 1st year it was like 'Come on coach yell"
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) May 26, 2017
In Stevens’ defense, there wasn’t too much to get angry about with the Celtics this season. Boston exceeded expectations and grabbed the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2017Â NBA playoffs.
And considering how good the Celtics’ 2016-17 campaign was, Isaiah Thomas has no idea how Stevens isn’t a finalist for the NBA Coach of the Year award.
“That’s BS,” Thomas told USA Today. “That is — I was thinking about that the other day. Like, we’re the No. 1 seed in the East, and everybody in the world thinks we’re half as talented as anybody in the NBA. It’s weird he’s not even in the conversation. That’s, I don’t know, that’s crazy. He should definitely be in the running, and if you ask anybody in this league, he should definitely probably be the Coach of the Year.”
Maybe if Stevens ups the ante on his anger next season he’ll take home the hardware.
Thumbnail photo via Jeremy Brevard/USA TODAY Sports Images
