Celtics @ 7: Did We Overrate Brad Stevens & Isaiah Thomas?
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics head home down 2-0 to the Atlanta Hawks, and though the series is far from over, many are starting to question if the team's regular season accomplishments mean anything in the long run.
Most notably, did we overrate head coach Brad Stevens and All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas?
Stevens has quickly become one of the league's bright young minds, and it looked inevitable that he would enter the elite coaching stratosphere in the near future. But after dropping the first two games to Atlanta, his postseason record sits at 0-6 in his brief NBA career.
As for Thomas, he is once again struggling in the playoffs after looking like an All Pro during the regular season. The Hawks defense has keyed in on the Celtics' leading scorer, holding him to just 33 percent shooting from the floor.
Adam Jones discussed the "did we overrate them" conundrum on Wednesday night's Celtics @ 7 on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
"I said going into this series we're going to learn a lot about the coach and a lot about the All-Star point guard; a guy I think is a foundational piece on a championship caliber team, and in the case of the head coach, a guy I think is very good and on his way to being an elite head coach," said Jones.
"I thought, anyway. Now he's 0-6, his team can't even get out of their own way to start a game and he's way too slow on that trigger with a timeout," Jones said of Stevens. "I was watching Atlanta start [Game 2] 8-2 and was wondering 'where's the timeout, Brad?' You have six timeouts. End the momentum before it gets away from you. Next thing you know [Kyle] Korver knocks down a three, it's 11-2 and he drags his feet and calls a timeout. Where is the urgency?
"Isaiah Thomas has been brutal in this series. Now you have to start wondering if it's not just Isaiah having a couple of rough games, or if you tie back in how he played last year against Cleveland," said Jones. "He's shooting 33 percent from the field and 31 percent on threes in these two games. Know what he shot against Cleveland ? That would be 33 percent. Is it just Isaiah is a tough matchup in the regular season, but when teams key on him in the playoffs or you run into better defensive teams he can't carry you? Is that what's going on?
"I'm not writing off the coach or Isaiah, but midway thought this series I'm starting to wonder and investigate if I and others overrated the coach and their best player. Even if they're less talented than Atlanta, those were two areas I thought they had the advantage. Through two games I couldn't be more wrong," concluded Jones.
Jones & Rich Keefe don't just single out Stevens and Thomas when it comes to distributing the blame pie:
