He’s no Buck in headlights
Prunty earns C’s respect
WALTHAM — Seeing all these matchup pieces and various internet previews of the Celtics Milwaukee series, it seems this Joe Prunty fellow is a relative rube over his head in deep water. He is, we are told, about to get stripped down to his clipboard by Brad Stevens in a one-sided coaching fight that will be a main difference in the Celts advancing to the next round.
Most if not all of these pieces are written by people who don’t know Joe Prunty. Hell, I don’t know Joe Prunty — but I’ve spent the last couple of days talking to people who do, and the profile that emerges is anything but that of a man whose sideline attire will need to include scuba gear.
This branch of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree has done a very admirable job under trying circumstances after taking over when interim coach when Jason Kidd was fired in January. And while Stevens has certainly earned every bit of praise that will come his way, it should not come at Prunty’s expense.
As much as Greenhearts would like to believe their coach will make a series of moves that checkmate the Bucks, this series will ultimately be decided by the players — by which team executes better and thus avoids selfinflicted wounds.
The NBA is said to be a players’ league, and that isn’t just a neat cliché. I’ve always believed that of under-coaching and over-coaching, the latter is the far greater sin.
The best a coach can do is put his people in the proper places and let them go. In Stevens’ case, particularly this season, it’s also entailed easing the transition to larger roles by his young players.
Prunty, meanwhile, has had to gain the confidence of his players after Kidd’s firing, a move that, by the way, was not endorsed at the time by Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka The Franchise. The fact Giannis quickly purchased what Prunty was selling went a long way toward the Bucks getting through their own injury issues.
And if it’s numbers you seek, know that the Bucks are 21-16 since Prunty took over on Jan. 22. The Celtics are 21-14 in that same span.
“There’s 30 great coaches in this league, and Joe is one of them,” said Stevens. “The stuff Joe runs on offense, the ATO’s (after timeout plays), they’re one of the best in the league. He’s done a great job of tweaking them defensively. And obviously now that they’re fully healthy, he can dive into that whole playbook on both ends. He’s really good.”
As for the whole coaching matchup thing, Stevens said, “I don’t ever pay attention to any of that stuff. The coaches in this league are so-o-o-o good. And I’ve learned a ton from watching him coach his team this year. I think he’s done an incredible job. He puts those guys in positions to succeed. As coaches, we’re all trying to do that, and he does a great job of it.”
Don’t want to take Brad’s word for it? How about a guy who actually played for Prunty?
“Joe’s definitely a good coach,” said former Buck Greg Monroe. “I mean, he’s been an assistant on championship teams (in San Antonio). And a couple of years ago when Jason Kidd had to miss a little bit of time, he took over, so I kind of got to play for him as a head coach for a few games, like 16 games or something like that.
“He’s a good coach, very creative offensively. He’s a laid-back guy, but really smart though, a really intelligent coach. I’m sure he’ll put those guys in position to be successful. We’re going to have to come out and be prepared, as everybody does in the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see how he tweaks some things and see how he approaches this.”
The way Monroe talks, it seems Prunty and Stevens are rather alike.
“Yeah,” he said, “they have some similarities for sure — definitely laid-back guy, really great person. I mean, you know what you’re going to get from him every day you walk in the gym. That’s kind of how Brad is. That makes it easy for players. It makes them fun to play for.”
You might also recall that people were openly wondering how this mild-mannered college coach could possibly fare in the big, bad NBA before Stevens proved that a keen understanding of the game and sincerity work pretty well on pretty much any level.
Even though Joe Prunty has been working in the league since the 2000-01 season, he’s the lesser-known quantity in this “matchup.” Therefore, according to the flawed but prevailing wisdom, he’s going to get his X’s and O’s handed to him.
“They just don’t know him,” said Monroe. “That’s just how it is.”
And it’s why this kind of coaching talk is so discomforting to Stevens.
“I’ve never been in this, nor I don’t think many coaches are, to compare yourself,” he said. “You’re just trying to coach your team as well as you can.
“I have too much respect for the other 29 coaches to ever think anything more than I better work my butt off to figure out how to be ready for all their counters. Joe’s a great coach, and he’s been doing it a long time.”
Long enough to know that the split-second decisions made by the people in sneakers will be a larger factor than even the most brilliant coaching schemes and tweaks.