Forsberg: Stevens earned the right to flex with this Celtics roster originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Brad Stevens deserves to flex.
A snapshot of Boston’s president of basketball operations playfully posing went viral Wednesday night even before his team muscled the Western Conference-leading Phoenix Suns.
That Stevens was striking the pose in the background of a photo with soon-to-return Robert Williams III in the foreground made the shot even more powerful.
It was an out-of-character moment for Stevens. Well, at least his public side. Those who know him best see that playful Stevens more frequently than we do — even if he developed a penchant for Dad jokes toward the end of his tenure as coach of the Celtics.
Here’s why the snapshot resonated to us: Two months ago, Stevens wasn’t posing. He wasn’t smiling. The Ime Udoka coaching scandal had rocked Stevens and many in the Celtics organization. Dark clouds shrouded the Celtics as they gathered for training camp, especially after both Williams III and offseason addition Danilo Gallinari underwent late September surgeries.
The season easily could have veered off track for a team with title aspirations. Stevens didn’t just help steer the Celtics out from under dark clouds, he floored the accelerator and told everyone else to hold on. Stevens installed former assistant Joe Mazzulla as interim head coach and implored his players to simply focus on basketball.
Eight weeks into the 2022-23 season, the Celtics are an NBA-best 21-5. Williams III will be back this month. The roster that Stevens has shaped since taking over in June 2021 is oozing newfound depth, which has aided Boston’s fast start and shuffled the Celtics to title favorites.
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Make no mistake, Stevens inherited a talented roster. Danny Ainge’s deft drafting delivered core pieces in Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Williams III, Grant Williams, and Payton Pritchard. Stevens went the opposite way as roster builder and flipped a handful of future…
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