Why Ex-NBA Player Believes Brad Stevens’ System Works Better In 2019-20 Than Before

Did Brad Stevens devise a system in which the team is the star?

Former NBA player Channing Frye believes the Boston Celtics have started the 2019-20 NBA season so well because the head coach’s system runs better with Kemba Walker at point guard than it did with Kyrie Irving. Frye told NBA TV’s “Handles” the offseason point guard change has helped the other Celtics players flourish to the team’s overall benefit.

“I think it is (designed to excel without a superstar),” Frye said of Stevens’ scheme. “I think for them, less is more.

“They drafted really well, they made some good acquisitions when they had Al Horford and Gordon Hayward. Those guys fit into Brad Stevens’ system and they excel in that.

“But when you bring in a guy that’s just an absolute bucket-getter like Kyrie, it takes away from the overall offense.

“But Kemba’s really good within that system because he’s going to screen, he’s going to move and he’s a little bit more of a point guard than Kyrie.”

Frye’s assessment of the Celtics is similar to that of former Boston center Kendrick Perkins, who said Tuesday via Twitter he’d vote for the team itself if he had to pick an NBA MVP at this early point of the season.

The Celtics are enjoying a nine-game winning streak and have amassed an NBA-best 9-1 record.

They defeated the Washington Wizards 140-133 on Wednesday night at TD Garden, with seven players — Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter, Carsen Edwards and Brad Wanamaker — scoring in double figures. The 140 points were the most a Celtics team has scored since 1992.

Red-hot Boston increasingly is stoking optimism with each game, and its coach and other team officials deserve credit for putting the right players in the best positions to succeed.