The Boston Celtics needed a spark, and Brad Stevens knew just how to provide it. Going firmly against the easygoing nature that’s yielded pleasantly surprising results for his team in 2014-2105, the second-year coach laid into the Celtics with a profanity-laced tirade at halftime of their game versus the Orlando Magic on Friday.
Let’s just say the normally reserved Stevens got the result he sought. Here’s the revived Evan Turner on his coach’s rare motivational tactic, via Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston:
“I never heard Brad really curse, and he cursed us out pretty good,” said Turner. “I don’t know who came in our locker room, but he came in and started screaming. I jumped. We needed to get it under wraps.
“I knew he was pretty upset. I heard we have no food on the plane [to Indianapolis for Saturday’s game], so I’m pretty sure at halftime he called for no food. Hopefully we don’t have to get him that mad again.”
Stevens has never seemed the type who would lash out at his players with Whiplash-style barbs, but the notion that Turner had never heard him curse still comes as a surprise. This is professional athletics, after all, and profanity is used by some coaches at even junior levels of sports. It just went without saying that even an exceedingly mellow guy like Stevens – who is the only coach in the league not be called for a technical this season – would drop an f-bomb or two on occasion.
But apparently the 38 year-old always keeps them in the tank, ready to be utilized for the most dire of straits. And as Boston trailed the inferior Magic 50-40 after the first 24 minutes of a home game that it desperately needed to win, Stevens rightfully deemed the time appropriate.
Spurred by a revelatory fourth quarter performance from Turner, the Celtics outscored Orlando 55-38 in the second half en route to a crucial 95-88 victory. The former number two overall pick took full advantage of extra minutes and playmaking latitude afforded by the absence of Isaiah Thomas, scoring a season-high 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting – including 24 points following his coach’s speech.
Might Stevens resort to similar ploys for the season’s remainder? If they’d yield Friday’s results, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea – the Celtics trail the Charlotte Hornets by a game for eighth-place in the Eastern Conference with 18 games remaining on the schedule.
Either way, we’re convinced it won’t be Stevens who keeps Boston from a playoff appearance this season. During only his second season on the NBA bench, he’s clearly emerged as one of the best coaches in the game.
[ESPN]
