I could write an article praising Brad Stevens each and every day and it probably wouldn’t be enough praise for the guy that defers any praise and focuses all the credit to his players. However, coming from me, it sounds like just another super-fan-boy blogger over-selling his team’s coach.

Of course, when it comes from Gregg Popovich, there’s a little more weight to it.

via SBNation

“He is a special person — and that’s on and off the court,” Pop continued. “He is very intelligent. Intelligence is fine, but if it doesn’t come along with incisiveness and judgment and emotional maturity it doesn’t do you much good and he’s got all those things. Not that many people have that. It shows the way he handles people, the way he coaches. He’s going to be a great one before it’s all over with, and he’s already a helluva coach.”

The Celtics turned over their entire roster, use 5 rookies in the rotation, and lost an All Star 5 minutes into the season. Yet they are on a 5 game winning streak with the best ranked defense in the league.

I don’t really even know what else to say at this point. The man is a gift to the Boston Celtics.

Start the Coach of the Year campaign now. These sorts of things generally could be awarded to any number of really, really good coaches and a lot of it depends on situation and narrative. So normally I don’t really bother thinking about them much. That said, what could be a better narrative than losing an All Star on opening night and still overcoming to take the team to (fill in the blank) by the end of the year? It all seems to fit and it would be a fun honor.

It is a long season and I’m sure there will be rough waters before we’re through. But it is very comforting to know that Brad Stevens will be at the helm, pointing us in the right direction.