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Brad Stevens Already Building Great COY Campaign

By Joshua Bateman

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics yells in the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on October 20, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Celtics defeated the 76ers 102-92. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 20: Head coach Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics yells in the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on October 20, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Celtics defeated the 76ers 102-92. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Brad Stevens is once again showing why he is one the the truly elite coaches in the NBA

Not even five minutes into the first game of this season, it looked like everything was collapsing for the Boston Celtics. Gordon Hayward suffered an expected season ending injury, and the Celtics looked like a shell of the team people were anticipating.

After two games, people were ready to kill Boston’s chances of winning the East and getting to the finals, because they had very few positive to look at. On top of that, the injuries started piling up, and the Celtics are still waiting to get their roster to full strength with Marcus Morris.

It looked like this year was going to turn into an opportunity for the young talent to get more opportunities as they grow. The young talent has been on full display, but they are starting to gain some momentum, making it clear that this season is not just a learning experience.

The Celtics have now strung together four straight wins, despite never looking quite as good as we felt they should, and that is in large part thanks to maybe the most remarkable job Brad Stevens has done in his young career.

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The Celtics are somehow the hottest team in the East with their four game winning streak, and the last two wins have come against expected playoff teams in the East. Stevens clearly has a lot of work to do with this roster, but he is not letting that get in the way of winning.

It appears as tough Stevens is figuring out what aspects of this team are going to need more time to reach their potential, and his ability to get every single player on the floor to be a positive defender has changed the trajectory of this season once again, and has made him an early Coach of the Year favorite.

The injuries alone make Stevens an easy Coach of the Year candidate right now. No matter how it is getting done, winning these games after the loses they have suffered is remarkable. What is even more impressive is that the biggest strength of this team, offense, has done nothing special yet, and no one player has really put the team on his back and carried things by himself.

The injuries have been absolutely worst case, the offensive chemistry is non existent at most times, and yet Stevens has figured out enough to put these players in a position where they can succeed.

Stevens is trusting his talent, and has no problem giving the youngest players some of the biggest roles because of what they are able to do on the defensive end. Stevens has also figured out that if this defense holds up, then they have the individual talent to win games down the stretch.

With the injuries and how the offense has functioned, it feels as though this season has gone wrong in every way possible. If you had predicted these injuries and the offensive struggles before the season started, you would think this Celtics team was without hope.

Nevertheless, Stevens is realizing that defense can carry this team, and he is going to embrace that as much as he can.

Stevens has an unprecedented record of getting more than thought possible out of his talent, but that is not the case this year. Especially on offense, the Celtics know they can get more out of their talent.

Stevens is building his Coach of the Year campaign because of this ability to find ways to win despite not getting the most out of his talent.

Stevens has all the patience that will allow that offensive talent to eventually come together, but he is figuring out all the other parts of the talent on this team that they need to win through these struggles.

Stevens has been a Coach of the Year candidate multiple times now, but the standard was transformed after getting the kind of talent this team now has. Right now, however, Stevens is doing the best job of his young career, even with that talent boost.

Next: Boston Celtics Winning with Defense

The Celtics do not even have a set starting lineup yet. The rotation is all over the place and changing after each and every game. Stevens is doing more things with this roster than he ever has before in the past, and when that translates to a struggling team getting four wins in a row, you better believe he is a Coach of the Year favorite.

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