Brad Stevens Is Done With 'F---ing Challenges'

The NBA has introduced coach's challenges for the first time this season. So far, it hasn't gone terribly well, as they've run into the same problem that the NFL has -- referees are extremely reluctant to overturn the initial call on the floor, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

I wrote about this problem back in November. Things haven't changed. Calls are rarely being overturned and coaches are getting aggravated. It's even getting Brad Stevens mad, and he's as even-keeled as they come.

On Sunday, the Celtics played the Knicks. During the contest, Julius Randle made a bucket over Grant Williams, who was called for a blocking foul on the play. Stevens challenged the blocking foul with his coach's challenge and was right! The blocking foul was overturned. However, because Randle was still shooting, the bucket still counted. So Stevens used a challenge to save his rookie forward, averaging a whopping 14.8 minutes per game, one foul. He was not pleased. (If you're sensitive to foul language in videos and tweets, go no further)

As MassLive's John Karalis outlines above, Stevens says he's "done with these f---ing challenges. This is unbelievable."

It's hard to blame him. It would appear that challenges in basketball are far more complicated than challenges in football. This isn't the first time a Stevens challenge has gone awry in an unexpected manner; last week, he challenged a foul on one Celtics defender and got it overturned, but free throws were still awarded because the officials said there was still a foul, just on another Celtics player.

Mad Brad Stevens is a rare sight, but these coach's challenges seem to get under his skin like nothing else thus far in his tenure as an NBA coach.