technical details
  1. is_video => false
  2. alias => "boston\/\/boston-celtics\/celtics-suns-preview-making-progress-room-grow"
  3. nid => "485966"
  4. title => "Celtics-Suns preview: Making progress, but room to grow"
  5. is_chrome_page => false
  6. article_body => "<p>BOSTON -- Progress is a subjective thing, especially when it comes to success in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>And while the Boston Celtics (20-19) aren\u2019t playing as well as they would want to right now (Wednesday\u2019s win over Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak), they are on the cusp of achieving a milestone tonight against the Phoenix Suns that speaks to the progress they have made under third-year coach Brad Stevens.<\/p>\n<p>A victory tonight over the Suns (13-27) would assure the Celtics of hitting the halfway point of the season with a winning record, something Boston failed to do in Stevens\u2019 first two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>But you won\u2019t find Stevens or any of the <a href=\"\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/nba-basketball-boston-celtics-XzyRSldegQhGM\" target=\"_blank\">Celtics dabbin\u2019 it up<\/a> over having a winning record at the midway point of the season.<\/p>\n<p>From the moment Danny Ainge introduced Brad Stevens as the Celtics\u2019 head coach in 2013, Stevens has been a steady in-the-moment kind of coach.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than think about the growth of the team under his leadership, Stevens is more consumed with figuring out a way to get his players to deliver more consistent results.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality is, coaches don\u2019t prepare for what\u2019s average,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cThey prepare for everything the other team is capable of. When you start looking at what these teams are capable of and what these individuals are capable of on a given night, you realize you have your hands full every minute. The moment you let your guard down, the moment you feel good about yourself or you get too down on yourself, it can be a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stevens knows this all too well with the Celtics in the middle of their best start under his leadership.<\/p>\n<p>In his rookie season with Boston, the Celtics were 14-27 under Stevens after the first 41 games played. And last season, Boston was marginally better at 15-26.<\/p>\n<p>Although they have made progress where it counts most in terms of increased win total, there\u2019s still a sense with this season\u2019s squad that they have given away more than their share of should-have-been-wins this season.<\/p>\n<p>The Celtics lost a pair of games to lottery-bound Brooklyn, suffered a home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers during Kobe Bryant\u2019s farewell tour not to mention letting winnable games get away from them at Memphis (101-98) who played without two of their better players (ex-Celtic Courtney Lee and Mike Conley) and the New York Knicks who lost Carmelo Anthony for the night just 19 seconds into the second half and Kristaps Porzingis (26 points) fouled out with nearly three minutes to play.<\/p>\n<p>The problems in that 101-98 loss weren\u2019t all that different than the problems that have plagued them throughout various stretches this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can improve,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cWe\u2019re just having too many possessions right now that we\u2019re not maximizing. Hopefully we can do that a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The chances of that happening certainly are greater against Phoenix which comes in having lost 11 of its last 12 games and ranks among the league\u2019s worst in several categories such as points allowed (106.4, 29th), fast break points allowed (16.0, 29th), opponent effective Field Goal Percentage (.532, 30th) and 3-point percentage defense (37.9, 29th), to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of the Celtics\u2019 success thus far this season, the focus for Stevens and his players is the same now as it has been throughout his two-plus seasons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStay in the moment, focus on what you can control, try and improve,\u201d said Stevens while adding, \u201cand let the chips fall where they may.\u201d<br><br><\/p>\n"
  7. author => "A. Sherrod Blakely"
  8. mps => {"author":"A. Sherrod Blakely","league":"","sport":"","sponsor":""}
  9. published => "1452861000"
  10. created => "1452840068"
  11. changed => "1452861640"
  12. status => "1"
  13. section => "Celtics"
  14. team => "Boston Celtics"
  15. chrome_data => "{\"league\":\"\",\"sport\":\"\",\"sponsor\":\"\"}"
  16. image => {"uri":"public:\/\/archive\/assets_article\/boston\/2016\/01\/15\/jae-crowder-isaiah-thomas-celtics-nets-1-4-16.jpg","alt":"jae-crowder-isaiah-thomas-celtics-nets-1-4-16.jpg","title":"Celtics-Suns preview: Making progress, but room to grow"}
  17. sponsor => ""
  18. region => "boston"
  19. fb_url => "https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/share?app_id=318214485357680&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fboston%2Fboston-celtics%2Fceltics-suns-preview-making-progress-room-grow&display=popup"
  20. tw_url => "https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Celtics-Suns%20preview%3A%20Making%20progress%2C%20but%20room%20to%20grow&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fboston%2Fboston-celtics%2Fceltics-suns-preview-making-progress-room-grow&original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fboston%2Fboston-celtics%2Fceltics-suns-preview-making-progress-room-grow"
  21. mailto => "mailto:?subject=Celtics-Suns%20preview%3A%20Making%20progress%2C%20but%20room%20to%20grow&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fboston%2Fboston-celtics%2Fceltics-suns-preview-making-progress-room-grow"
  22. tags => []
  23. tags_hide => []
  24. type => "article"
  25. meta => {"file":"\/mnt\/gfs\/rsnunited\/sites\/default\/files\/archive\/article\/boston\/boston-celtics\/celtics-suns-preview-making-progress-room-grow.json","assets":["public:\/\/archive\/assets_article\/boston\/2016\/01\/15\/jae-crowder-isaiah-thomas-celtics-nets-1-4-16.jpg"]}
  26. orig_image => {"uri":"public:\/\/2016\/03\/29\/jae-crowder-isaiah-thomas-celtics-nets-1-4-16.jpg","alt":"jae-crowder-isaiah-thomas-celtics-nets-1-4-16.jpg","title":"Celtics-Suns preview: Making progress, but room to grow"}
  27. article_type => "article"
Celtics

Celtics

BOSTON -- Progress is a subjective thing, especially when it comes to success in the NBA.

And while the Boston Celtics (20-19) aren’t playing as well as they would want to right now (Wednesday’s win over Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak), they are on the cusp of achieving a milestone tonight against the Phoenix Suns that speaks to the progress they have made under third-year coach Brad Stevens.

A victory tonight over the Suns (13-27) would assure the Celtics of hitting the halfway point of the season with a winning record, something Boston failed to do in Stevens’ first two seasons.

But you won’t find Stevens or any of the Celtics dabbin’ it up over having a winning record at the midway point of the season.

From the moment Danny Ainge introduced Brad Stevens as the Celtics’ head coach in 2013, Stevens has been a steady in-the-moment kind of coach.

Rather than think about the growth of the team under his leadership, Stevens is more consumed with figuring out a way to get his players to deliver more consistent results.

“The reality is, coaches don’t prepare for what’s average,” Stevens said. “They prepare for everything the other team is capable of. When you start looking at what these teams are capable of and what these individuals are capable of on a given night, you realize you have your hands full every minute. The moment you let your guard down, the moment you feel good about yourself or you get too down on yourself, it can be a bad thing.”

 

Stevens knows this all too well with the Celtics in the middle of their best start under his leadership.

In his rookie season with Boston, the Celtics were 14-27 under Stevens after the first 41 games played. And last season, Boston was marginally better at 15-26.

Although they have made progress where it counts most in terms of increased win total, there’s still a sense with this season’s squad that they have given away more than their share of should-have-been-wins this season.

The Celtics lost a pair of games to lottery-bound Brooklyn, suffered a home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers during Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour not to mention letting winnable games get away from them at Memphis (101-98) who played without two of their better players (ex-Celtic Courtney Lee and Mike Conley) and the New York Knicks who lost Carmelo Anthony for the night just 19 seconds into the second half and Kristaps Porzingis (26 points) fouled out with nearly three minutes to play.

The problems in that 101-98 loss weren’t all that different than the problems that have plagued them throughout various stretches this season.

“We can improve,” Stevens said. “We’re just having too many possessions right now that we’re not maximizing. Hopefully we can do that a little better.”

The chances of that happening certainly are greater against Phoenix which comes in having lost 11 of its last 12 games and ranks among the league’s worst in several categories such as points allowed (106.4, 29th), fast break points allowed (16.0, 29th), opponent effective Field Goal Percentage (.532, 30th) and 3-point percentage defense (37.9, 29th), to name a few.

Regardless of the Celtics’ success thus far this season, the focus for Stevens and his players is the same now as it has been throughout his two-plus seasons.

“Stay in the moment, focus on what you can control, try and improve,” said Stevens while adding, “and let the chips fall where they may.”