Brad Stevens Got Out-Coached in Game 5
By Jeremy Karll
Brad Stevens is one of the best, young coaches in the NBA, but he got out-coached in Game 5
The Boston Celtics have had some duds in their first round series against the Atlanta Hawks, but Game 5 may take the cake. James Young and the Celtics’ three rookies played the last quarter because of how out-of-hand it got. After being up 20-to-15 after the first quarter, the Celtics were outscored 74-to-42 in the next two quarters. The Hawks dominated the game and did what Boston wasn’t able to do in the first quarter, pull away.
The Celtics held a 29-to-19 lead midway through the second quarter, however, it should have been a lot more. The Hawks shooting was still cold from the previous two games and Boston had a chance to put them away early and head back to Boston with the series lead. They continued to miss shots and once Atlanta was able to knock down open jumpers, there was no stopping them.
The constant ball movement and tenacious defense gave the Celtics all sorts of problems. Five Hawks finished with at least three assists and they shot 38.9 percent from behind the arc as a team. For two quarters, Atlanta was unstoppable. Whether it was them getting an open look from three or an easy layup, the Celtics didn’t have an answer. They continued to be slow on rotations and the interior defense that has kept them in this series was missing.
On offense, it was a complete disaster. They scored a mere 83 points and nothing was falling for them. Isaiah Thomas entered the game as the playoff points per game leader, however, he was held to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting and missed all his three-point attempts. To put it in perspective, he recorded as many turnovers (3) and more fouls (4) than field goals made in Game 5. It got worse for Thomas as he sprained his ankle early in the fourth quarter during a blowout, although, it doesn’t seem to be too bad and he should be ready for Game 6.
The fact he was still in the game with the game out of reach was befuddling and highlights the rough night Brad Stevens had. It brought back flashbacks to when Tom Thibodeau kept Derrick Rose in the game when the Chicago Bulls held a commanding lead over the Philadelphia 76ers and Rose tore his ACL. Obviously, Thomas’s injury wasn’t as bad and he’s not expected to miss any time, but there was no reason for him to be kept in the game.
Besides the terrible fourth quarter decision, Brad Stevens was out-coached by Mike Budenholzer all game, and it led to Atlanta’s dominating performance. Budenholzer was under fire after their Game 4 loss, and the way he had his team respond was impressive.
He brought in a more team-oriented offensive game plan, rather than just relying on Paul Millsap. On defense, he once again forced Boston to take outside shots and put a lot of pressure on guards driving the lane. Just like in Games 1 and 2, it was a success in Game 5.
On the Celtics’ side, Stevens abandoned the game plan that worked well in Games 3 and 4. Amir Johnson played a measly 13 minutes, especially when compared to Jared Sullinger‘s 13 minutes and Kelly Olynyk‘s 11. Neither Sullinger or Olynyk have had any substantial impact on the series, and Johnson has been the rock down low for Boston during this series. He has rebounded the ball well, given good interior defense and shot efficiently for the Celtics. It was shown when he scored the first basket of the game and grabbed seven rebounds in his little playing time.
Getting Jared Sullinger going would be huge for Boston, however, Game 5 in a 2-2 series isn’t the time to try it. Sullinger did have his best game of the series – scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting – but he was a ball stopper.
The Celtics had too many iso plays drawn up for Sullinger, which ended ball movement. Not having enough ball movement and having guys stand around in a half-court offense was the reason for the Celtics struggles in the first two games. He also only grabbed three rebounds and the times he forgot to box-out led to a lot of extra chances for the Hawks, which they capitalized on.
The most surprising thing was that Stevens opted towards Olynyk late in the third quarter, instead of running a smaller lineup or quickly going back to Jonas Jerebko. In the last five minutes of the third quarter, Olynyk recorded two turnovers and a foul, which basically sums up the 0 point, 0 rebound game he had.
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His shots weren’t falling and he didn’t provide the same versatility and spacing that Jerebko has this series. Jerebko, just like Johnson, rebounded the ball well in Game 5. His shooting wasn’t on fire like in Games 3 and 4, however, he was clearly the better option over Olynyk.
It was as if Brad Stevens has a game plan for when the Celtics are in Atlanta and when they’re in Boston. It seemed that Stevens moved away from everything that worked in the Celtics’ two wins and went back to the way they played early in the series. Their offense wasn’t there in the first quarter, but Boston has been a second half team this season.
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There were a lot of questionable lineup calls for Brad Stevens on Tuesday night, luckily they’ll have at least one more chance to make it right. Stevens needs to stick with what has worked in their wins and not try to reinvent the wheel again. He’s a great coach who may have been gipped of Coach of the Year honors, but this was definitely a tough learning experience for the third-year coach.