The short-handed Boston Celtics pulled off another big win on Friday night, and Kendrick Perkins was impressed.
The former C's big man chimed in on Twitter following Boston's victory over the Detroit Pistons to praise Brad Stevens and his team's "next man up mentality." He even went as far as to declare Stevens the front-runner for NBA Coach of the Year.
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Stevens certainly has plenty of competition for the award, but Perkins has a valid point. Boston is 19-7 and second in the Eastern Conference despite injuries nagging the team throughout the year. Plus, the complete 180 in team chemistry has been noteworthy.
If the C's keep up this pace throughout the season, it's hard to imagine Stevens won't at least be in the running for Coach of the Year honors. There still are 55 games left on the schedule, though, so we've got a long way to go before we start taking that discussion seriously.