Brad Stevens in Great Position for Coach of the Year Run

Brad Stevens is in a great position to go on a Coach of the Year run

The Boston Celtics season has been quite split this year. There have been moments where they looked like they would run away with the top seed, and be a legitimate contender out of the East. Then, they turn around and lose multiple games to bottom dwelling teams, making it seem like they could struggle in early playoff rounds.

The Celtics have been the most wild team in the NBA, with the most ridiculous comebacks on a nightly basis, and some of the most spectacular finishes you will ever see. The Celtics have been the most difficult team to gauge this season, and there are a lot of different places they can go after the All Star break.

It has felt like Brad Stevens has been a coach of the year candidate every year with the team, but this fascinating position they find themselves in right now is just the opportunity he needs to finally capture that award. The way the Celtics struggled going into the All Star break has also given Stevens a great opportunity to bounce back, making potential success that much more impressive.

There is some good competition this season, but there is no other coach that has really separated himself, and there is no question that the award is up for grabs right now.

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The first thing Stevens will need to do is get that top seed. The Toronto Raptors do not look like a team that is going to give up ground, but with two games against them remaining, the Celtics still have enough control over their destiny.

It will be a tough battle but getting that number one seed under all these circumstances this season should make Stevens a favorite. When you take into account everything that has happened, and everything that will need to happen, it is hard to imagine any coach having a better case than a top seeded Stevens.

The Gordon Hayward injury is the biggest factor. The Spurs are the only other potential top team that has lost that caliber of player, and remained relevant. Gregg Popovich is always a coach of the year candidate, but it is easy to see that the Celtics are in a better position to gain ground the rest of the way than the Spurs.

The fact that the Celtics have been this competitive without Hayward is why Stevens should be a coach of the year favorite right now, but what he does the rest of the way will be more important. If the Celtics fall off a cliff, no one will care about how good they should have been without Hayward, because we have seen them maintain success without him.

What will be even more impressive for Stevens, however, is if he makes this incredibly young team with players that have already exceeded expectations, take yet another leap. The Celtics know they can improve, but how can you expect Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to get better, even if we can clearly see how much potential they have.

The Celtics are still all over the place, but Stevens has managed to improve his teams after the All Star break every year with the team. This may be the most difficult team to improve, because of how they have overachieved.

That being said, getting that improvement will make it that much more impressive for Stevens. If you take what he has already done, and combine that with improving this team for the playoffs and getting that top seed, it is hard to imagine him losing that Coach of the Year award.

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It will obviously be a challenge, and the Celtics season can still go a lot of different ways. That being said, if Stevens continues to do what he has throughout his career, he will get this Celtics team in a great position come playoff time and he should finally be given the award that has eluded him too many times already.

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