Brad Stevens quit his job as a marketing associate as Eli Lilly to become a volunteer assistant under Thad Matta at Butler. If the Boston Celtics have a chance against the Hawks in this Round 1 series, it’s because Stevens spurned Big Pharma 16 years ago.
He’s 39 and could pass for 19, and he’s the best thing the NBA’s proudest organization has going for it. That’s not meant as faint praise. Even without the injured guard Avery Bradley, the Celtics have an OK roster – not as good as the Hawks’, but OK. In Stevens, they have the NBA’s next great coach.