Celtics Fans Want Brad Stevens Fired After Latest Meltdown
The Boston Celtics melted down on Sunday, blowing a 24-point lead en route to a 120-115 overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The defeat dropped the Celtics to 15-15 on the season and in the wake of the disaster, fans took to Twitter en masse and called for coach Brad Stevens to be fired.
Here's a sampling of the vitriol spewed at Stevens after the loss:
FIRE BRAD STEVENS YESTERDAY
— James (0-0) (FIRE CAM NEWTON)? (@Jimbo__P) February 21, 2021
Might be time for Brad Stevens to gooooo. What exactly has he done since being hired? Nothing
— kai (@JusttKyree) February 21, 2021
I keep hearing about Tatum's struggles and how Kemba has not worked out, but Brad Stevens seems to be getting a pass in year 7
— jc (@sietetr3inta) February 21, 2021
These collapses are more on Brad Stevens than the roster but I definitely predicted this
— Tribal Chief Teddy (@teddy_thee_bear) February 21, 2021
People can’t blame everything on Kemba. Sure, he had a rough night shooting, but Brad Stevens’ rotations down the stretch were horrendous. Daniel Theis should also be traded ASAP. The fact Tristan Thompson doesn’t see the floor, but Theis does is blasphemous.
— James Madden (@Jmadden1632) February 21, 2021
Y’all thought Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, Al Horford were the problem in Boston, all these players are now striving elsewhere. The Celtics has a coaching problem, Brad Stevens isn’t as good as we thought.
— BlackBoyFly??? (@LifeOfMaken2X) February 21, 2021
Fire. Brad. Stevens.
— Bryan Gnieski (@gnieskib) February 21, 2021
Brad Stevens
— ??The?112?? (@Camboxmma) February 21, 2021
blew a 14-point lead in Game 1
And blew a 15 point lead in game 2 vs heat
Blew a 28 point lead vs Clippers 2019
Blew a 25 point lead vs Hawks
4 times Steven's teams have blown 2-0 leads to have a series tied at 2-2
Has Most losses when up 10 or more in the NBA pic.twitter.com/sbZJwV0Z3N
Yeah Brad Stevens hunny...it might be time
— Desperate lover boy ? (@mozezeoo) February 21, 2021
Tomorrow’s gonna be a rough day for dudes named “Brad Stevens”
— Ryan Benharris (@RyanBenharris) February 21, 2021
Pissing me off. They need to fire Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens already.
— Vaughn Canta (@VC_ExtraHours) February 21, 2021
Brad Stevens favorite thing to do is watch a 20 point lead disappear
— scott caffrey (@caffdawg68) February 21, 2021
Fire Brad Stevens
— cg (@c_thfc_boston) February 22, 2021
Fire Brad Stevens. Fire Danny Ainge.
— M•P•3 (@mprisco3) February 22, 2021
Both have failed.
The Celtics have disappointed this season, as they were expected to compete for an Eastern Conference crown, but currently sit in fifth place having lost four of their last six. Despite having three bona fide stars in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker, Boston is mired in a deep funk, characterized by inconsistency.
Stevens has taken the Celtics to the conference finals in three of the last four years, but has never gotten them over the hump. Fans of the team are apparently done waiting for the team to figure things out while wasting prime years of Tatum and Brown's careers.
This is a situation to watch over the next few months, as Danny Ainge has tied himself closely to Stevens, especially after signing him to a contract extension last August.