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NBA Finals 2022 – Bold Changes Lead to Brad Stevens’ New Role and Game 1 Boston Celtics Victory


SAN FRANCISCO – A year ago, Boston Celtics owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca made a bold move: They made their successful coach the rookie team president and replaced him with a rookie coach.

Someone on the dais the day the Brad Stevens lift move was formalized – June 2, 2021 – was told that exactly 365 days later the Celtics would win Game 1 of the NBA 2022 Finals 120-108 via Golden Empire Warriors, they will find it hard to believe. Consists of Retired team president Danny Aingewho built the skeleton of a team that has now won three championships.

Stevens, the former Celtics coach turned chief executive officer, and his activities since taking the shock advert is both stunning and sensational.

There are quite a few reasons why the Celtics have assembled a five-month rally that saw them win their first title in 14 years, but many of Stevens’ moves over the past year have resulted in immediate and superior returns. .

• He hires Ime Udoka as his replacement, betting on his longtime assistant’s academic history San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich was next spiced up followed by an assistant coach in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Udoka’s blend of tough love combined with his team’s ability to build resilience is just what this young group of players need. Plus, Udoka got to the team in a way Stevens didn’t, and it opened up the Celtics’ potential.

Udoka replaced Stevens incorrectly Bill Russell replace Red Auerbach, they do not have fair work. Hiring Stevens’ successor was a gamble.

“It’s another situation that a lot of people might not think is appealing, but I think it’s only beneficial to have a guy who’s trained for seven or eight years in the building with the same guys down the hall,” said Udoka. talk about how everything fell into place.

“We talk about every situation [Stevens has] passed and its kind of support so far. But also step back and let me do my thing. In a special situation, certainly this year has been helped. “

Stevens traded guard Kemba Walker for the center Al Horford. This was the first move that determined how different things would be in Boston. Celtics admit that signing Walker for up to four years in 2019 was a mistake and let Horford go Philadelphia 76ers in that season hurt the team.

Stevens made the selection in the first round, number 16 last year, to make the deal. This isn’t a typical Ainge move, as he likes to hoard picks to use on growing players or as bait to chase a star. It’s not that Ainge’s process is flawed; the entire core of the team were the players he drafted, who paid off. But at this point, Horford is already a 35-year-old but Stevens has made him a priority – it all comes down to typical team priorities.

The move has proven to be a big plus, both in the off-season and in the knockout stages. Horford has played the hero several times in this post-season, including his 26-point performance on Thursday.

• Center signed by Stevens Robert Williams III to one four-year extension, $48 million (some bonuses can make it worth up to 54 million dollars). Trading was considered a bit stressful at the time, as Williams was plagued by injuries and limited play for the first three years of his career.

Within weeks, Williams had earned the confidence of the entire team, becoming one of the league’s defensive difference-makers, earning a spot on the All-Way Defensive Team. He’s battled through injury this season and also played a big part in Game 1’s win, parrying four shots and being a tire threat around the perimeter.

• At the close of his first trade in February, Stevens made a positive move by trading draft options on the first round and swapping futures with Spurs for White Derrick. As with Horford, Stevens went against the position Ainge had established by investing future draft assets in a role.

But White, who signed a reasonable long-term contract worth $17 million a year and is known for his versatile attacking ability and a quality defender, proved to be an ideal fit. Combined with the option to trade Dennis Schroder – a failed signing that didn’t work out for Stevens but a mistake he quickly fixed – release move Smart Marcus become the Celtics’ main point guard while providing a perfect combination of protection off the bench.

“This is about adding people that you think and can see playing in a seven-game knockout playoff series,” Stevens said after the White acquisition. “And you know they can be on the floor and play a role in helping you win.”

White has been instrumental in the past two rounds and made his grand finale debut, scoring 21 points and winning five 3-pointers.

Add it all together and it was a masterpiece in his first year working for the Celtics under their rookie president and coach. Stevens came far sixth in the CEO of the year vote, coming back very well behind winner Zach Kleiman’s Memphis Grizzlies. But it’s an imperfect award, where true work is often not seen in a one-season cycle; it can often turn out to be an award lasting 18 months, which is the case with Kleiman.

Honor is irrelevant at this point; The final hardware is near. And Stevens’ communication made that happen.

And agile.



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