Boston Celtics 97-94 Utah Jazz: 5 talking points

The takeaway

If the NBA head coaching role is about getting the best out of every player on your roster while simultaneously leading your team to success, then Brad Stevens is hands down the best coach in the league, and the Coach of the year award should definitely go to him this year. The Celtics are on pace to better their 53-29 record from last season and are currently sitting at a 52-23 record.

Not only has Stevens excelled at man management, improving his players' skills and at setting them up to play the league's best defense, he has also been a maestro in the clutch situations. Yes, a large part of the Celtics' clutch scoring can be attributed to the acquisition of Kyrie Irving and his amazing 4th quarter play. And yet, without Stevens' amazing ATO plays, defensive schemes and meticulous planning, the Celtics wouldn't be winning over 70% of their clutch games.

The best part about Stevens' candidature is that the Celtics team has barely missed a beat even after Gordon Hayward's opening day injury, Kyrie's knee troubles of late and all the games that Horford has had to sit out from time to time this season. Irrespective of what personnel they deploy, the Celtics has a culture of hustle play, team defense and unselfish offense that few other teams in the league can match.