NBA GM survey shows Celtics are well-respected this season

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BOSTON -- The votes have been tabulated and the Boston Celtics are indeed a team on the rise not only in terms of wins and losses, but also in how they are perceived by front offices across the NBA landscape.
 
NBA.com released its annual GM survey in which the Celtics players and head coach Brad Stevens were among the top choices in several categories.
 
The Celtics were deemed the third-best team in the East, behind Cleveland and Toronto.
 
And when it comes to defense, that too found the Celtics in select company with GMs ranking them as the second-best defensive team.
 
Celtics guard Avery Bradley gets lots of love from players and, according to this survey, front office officials as well when it comes to defense.
 
Only San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard was deemed a better perimeter defender than Bradley who along with Leonard, was named to the league’s all-NBA Defensive First team last season.
 
As expected, the addition of Al Horford was thought of favorably by most league executives who participated in the survey.
 
When asked about who would be the one player acquisition that would make the biggest impact this season, only Kevin Durant going to Golden State ranked ahead of the Celtics luring Horford from Atlanta.
 
The executives like head coach Brad Stevens as well, ranking him as the third-best coach in the league behind only San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Dallas’ Rick Carlisle.
 
Stevens was also ranked as the third-best coach when GMs were asked who was the best coach at managing/motivating people, as well as who was the best at making in-game adjustments.
 

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