Brad Stevens Has the Boston Celtics in Perfect Position Again

Brad Stevens has a knack for getting his team ready for the postseason

Another year, another season where the Boston Celtics are ending the season playing some of the best basketball of the year and definitely the best basketball of Brad Stevens‘ tenure in Boston.

Stevens, in his last 3 seasons, has gotten the Celtics to play their best basketball in the final stretch of the regular season.

In fact, this leads all the way back to his college days at Butler. In his 2009-10 Butler season, Stevens led Gordon Hayward and the Bulldogs to end the regular season on an 18-game winning streak. Stevens and his Butler squad ultimately lost in the NCAA Championship Game 61-59 to Duke. Before Stevens’ 2010-11 season at Butler, Hayward had left to the NBA Draft.

Stevens and his Butler Bulldogs had a rough start to their season, starting with a 6-5 conference record. But Stevens turned it all around to end the season with a 13-5 conference record and the conference championship. Butler ended their regular season on a 7-game winning streak. That eventually led to another loss in the NCAA National Championship Game as they lost 41-53 to UConn.

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In Stevens’ second year as head coach of the Boston Celtics, they acquired Isaiah Thomas at the deadline when they had a 20-31 record. Stevens and the Celtics pushed hard for the playoffs during the second half of the season. Boston finished the regular season on a 20-11 run and he led the Celtics to a 7th seed in the East, where they ended up facing the Cavaliers in a series where Boston got swept.

Last season, we finally saw exactly what the future of the Boston Celtics is. Isaiah made his first NBA All-Star Game and the Celtics had their best record since the 2011-12 season at 48-34. Last year, Stevens put his Celtics’ team in perfect playoff position as they were playing their best basketball. Boston finished the regular season winning 5 of their last 7 games, including a huge win against the Warriors in Oracle. The Celtics ended the regular season with the 5th-seed in the Eastern Conference, where Boston once again fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Atlanta Hawks.

This season is no different when it comes to a strong regular season finish. Throughout the course of this season, the Celtics have had troubles with winning consistently. Losing to teams like the Suns and Nuggets. But the Celtics have learned to win against all teams consistently. Beating teams like the Warriors and Cavs in their recent meetings. Boston clinched home-court advantage in the first round on Sunday, which is great news for them as they have won 14 of their last 15 home games.

Sep 25, 2015; Waltham, MA, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens during media day at the Boston Celtic Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Stevens has put this Celtics team in great position for the playoffs. They are playing some of the best basketball they have ever played under Stevens. Boston has won 8 of their last 10 and they have 8 games left to play in the regular season. Which looks like one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league. With the Celtics in a

With the Celtics in a virtual tie for the 1 seed with the Cavaliers, Stevens has once again shown us how well he can get his teams to play heading into the playoffs.

Stevens has also been able to put his players in the right mindset heading forward, as Isaiah Thomas spoke on how he feels about being in a virtual tie with the Cavs:

"“I mean, it’s nice, it’s just a tie though. So it’s not that cool. Hopefully we can secure that spot and be No. 1 but we just have to control what we can control and take it game by game. We can’t really worry about what Cleveland’s doing and what other teams are doing if we control our own destiny at this point.”"

The question now is Stevens able to get past the first round of the playoffs?

Next: Boston Celtics Control Fate for One Seed

Stevens has been remarkable for the Boston Celtics. With Danny Ainge’s smart front office moves and Stevens’ ability to get the most out of each of his players, these two have quickly turned this franchise around. From a team who was led by Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green and having a record of 25-57 in their 2013-14 season, they are now in contention for the top seed in the Eastern Conference once again and for the first time under Stevens.

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