"I'm going Brad Stevens"- Former GM Bob Myers hails Celtics executive's consecutive hits for team success, names him Finals MVP
The Boston Celtics have extended their series lead against the Dallas Mavericks after a 105-98 romp in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. There were a lot of heroes so far for the Celtics in the first two games, such as Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jayson Tatum.
Game 2 saw five players score double-digits for the Celtics, a testament to their roster’s star power.
At ESPN’s post-game show, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers praised the Celtics’ front office, particularly Brad Stevens, for building the squad and giving it the right players and staff to succeed.
“I’m going Brad Stevens,” said Myers, answering his own question of who is the NBA Finals MVP so far.
“He put a team together with Jrue Holiday might be the best player since the first game or might have been Porzingis or Jaylen Brown. That is the advantage this Celtics team has,” Myers added.
Transitioning from being the head coach, Brad Stevens assumed the president of basketball operations role from former GM Danny Ainge. Since taking over, Stevens has made some key trades to build the Celtics team of today.
Stevens first brought back Al Horford, traded for Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday. While Brogdon did not work out for Boston, Stevens flipped him to add former NBA champion Holiday, adding another elite defender to the team.
He has also hired two amazing coaches in the past three years, hiring Ime Udoka and promoting Joe Mazzulla.
While Stevens cannot win the Finals MVP honors, Stevens already bagged the 2024 Executive of the Year award last April after the Celtics secured the best record in the NBA this season.
Brad Stevens' big acquisitions contributed to Boston Celtics’ Game 2 win
As mentioned, the Celtics had five guys scoring 12 or more points in Game 2 with Jrue Holiday leading the way. Holiday, who Brad Stevens traded for last offseason, had an efficient shooting game as he shot 11-of-14 from the field for 26 points along with 11 rebounds.
Derrick White’s two-way presence stood out too, as he tallied three steals and two blocks to go along with his 18 points. He capped off his impressive showing with a chase-down block on Dallas’ PJ Washington in the final minute, which preserved the win.
Finally, Kristaps Porzingis, who arrived with Holiday last offseason, came off the bench and added 12 points in 23 minutes to provide the all-around help the Celtics needed to retain their homecourt advantage in the series as they head to Dallas for Game 3.