'Mad' Brad Stevens blasts Boston Celtics, calls defense 'a sieve'

By foxsports
Published

The Boston Celtics were handily defeated by the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in front of a national audience. They don't get much of an opportunity to show the entire country how good they are, and they blew their first. 

But head coach Brad Stevens doesn't care about all that. All he cares about is the fact that his team's normally stout defense was awful, per ESPN's Chris Forsberg:

After the game, Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas said it was the angriest he's ever seen Stevens. That makes sense, considering Atlanta shot 50 percent from deep and 56.3 percent from the floor. 

Boston has a great chance to right its ship on Wednesday night when they host the winless Philadelphia 76ers. If the Celtics lose, everyone in Massachusetts would be wise to leave Stevens alone for a little while.

"We’ve got to be a team. And I think that’s first and foremost," Stevens said. "It’s very subjective and it’s hard to pinpoint, but I know this: When your defense is a sieve, you’re not a team."