Grading The First 8 Games of Brad Stevens:

Grade: C+

Now I know this isn't the best grade, but the Celtics aren't the best team. The celtics rank 20th in points scored, 23rd in assists, and 25th in rebounding. But for Stevens, I can't give help but grade on a curve. Let's start with the obvious, he's a rookie head coach. This plays a part in the grade, but it cannot be ignored that Boston has major issues to fix. 

Health
This is the most important factor for this Boston team.  This factor has derailed Celtic championships since 2009.  With Rondo, Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and others have missed significant time since the last championship.  With all the veterans gone, and all-star point guard Rajon Rondo out until Christmas, the Celtics can't afford any more injuries.



Scorer?
This is a fairly new problem the Celtics have.  With the departure of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry this team has lost 43.5 points per game.  With these holes, the Celtics are looking for forward Jeff Green to step up and led this young group until Rondo returns.  

Talent
The Celtics have arguably the best point guard in the league in Rajon Rondo, they also have Jeff Green.  But besides that, there is no other clear leaders.  The Celtics traded away all the veterans to the Nets for players liked Gerald Wallace, and Kris Humphries.  It is wildly considered a season where the Celtics will tank for Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins.  If the Celtics don't want to end up a lottery team for years to come, they need to upgrade their talent.

After the team started 0-4, everyone thought the tank was on. But the Celtics racked off 4 straight wins to get back to .500. The best game was last Saturday against the defending 2-time champions, the Miami Heat. The Celtics battled the whole game, but they were down 2 with .6 seconds left on the clock, and the Heat fans were heading to the exit.  Little did they know they would miss a very exciting and heart-breaking moment in the season. Jeff Green hit the game winning three as time expires to bring the team to 3-4.  After the victory in Miami, the Celtics got key production from Jordan Crawford in their win against the Orlando Magic. That 120-105 victory brought Boston's record up to 4-4 continued the winning streak to four games. Those wins saved coach Stevens from a lower grade, but those victories, combined with the upcoming schedule makes the Celtics a team on the rise.