NBA Rumors: Why Celtics Coaches Couldn’t Smooth ‘Major Friction’ Among Players

Brad Stevens didn’t meet what was perhaps his biggest challenge of 2018-19.

The Celtics head coach and his staff couldn’t smooth the noticeable friction among the team’s players because they didn’t know how to, The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reported Sunday, citing team sources.

Stevens has employed a hands-off coaching style for much of his Celtics tenure, allowing the players to “police themselves,” according to Washburn. But that strategy backfired this season, as players struggled to accept lesser roles, and the coaching staff reportedly lacked someone experienced or savvy enough to bridge divides between NBA players.

Here’s what Washburn wrote in his “Sunday Basketball Notes” column:

It became apparent throughout the season that there was major friction among the Celtics players because of some of their understandable personal agendas and how playing time and roles were distributed.

It wasn’t that the coaching staff was unaware of these issues, according to team sources; it was that they really didn’t know what to do about it. Without a coach with any real influence on players such as Irving, or who commanded the reverence of younger players, the staff was essentially left helpless to cure the problems.

The Celtics entered the season expecting to reach the NBA Finals and compete for a championship, but they underachieved during the regular season and ultimately exited the playoffs in the second round. Observers cited chemistry as a principle reason the Celtics failed to fulfill expectations over the course of the season, with many blaming star point guard Kyrie Irving for the team’s woes.

Stevens accepted full responsibility for the Celtics’ disappointing season last Wednesday following Boston’s season-ending loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5. He stressed one essential truth of management in basketball and beyond.

“… if your team doesn’t find its best fit together, that’s on you,” Stevens told reporters.

Whatever tests a season poses a team, responsibility for passing them starts atop the organization and flows downward.