BOSTON -- Boston Celtics newcomer Jonas Jerebko knows a thing or two about NBA coaches. After all, he had five of them in five seasons with the Detroit Pistons. So what are his early impressions of Brad Stevens?

"He’s just very calm and collected and knows his stuff," Jerebko said. "He knows his basketball and he's positive. He’s a great coach. Like you said, I’ve had a lot of [coaches], and he’s great."

Now, Jerebko is certainly biased and isn't going to talk down about the coach who controls his playing time. But his opinion is one that's been echoed often in the Celtics' locker room and by opposing players and coaches around the league.

On Monday, Stevens earned his first Coach of the Month nomination after leading Boston to a 7-4 record in February, his first winning month since taking the Celtics job in July 2013. The Eastern Conference award went to Stevens' close friend Frank Vogel, who guided the Pacers to a 7-2 mark last month.

The nomination itself is a testament to the job Stevens has done. The Celtics have tied a team record by utilizing 22 players this season and Stevens has seen 40 different names on his roster overall, once joking that he simply asks the front office to email him a fresh roster each morning. In a season of perpetual change, including 11 trades since the start of the season, Stevens has maintained a focus on building toward the future and, improbably, has kept Boston in the hunt for a playoff berth with help from a head-shakingly bad Eastern Conference.

Stevens is quick to point out that, at 11 games under .500 (23-34), his team is nowhere near where he desires it to be. But Boston has won seven of its last 11 games, hung with the best team in each conference in recent games and created some buzz in a city that's slowly embracing a young group of star-less players who find themselves in position to scrap for a playoff berth over the final 25 games of the regular season.

What Stevens has accomplished becomes all the more incredible when you consider what he's had to work with. The Celtics traded away their two best players early in the season, shipping Rajon Rondo to Dallas in mid-December, then sending Jeff Green to Memphis less than a month later.

Boston started generating some momentum in late January with a couple of narrow wins on a long road trip out west, then went into the All-Star break on a high after beating the East-leading Atlanta Hawks. Stevens went so far as to voice a desire for minimal change at the trade deadline in hopes that continuity would aid his team on a potential playoff push. Before Boston played its next game, it would lose its top remaining player, Jared Sullinger, to a season-ending foot injury and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would make two more trades involving five players (two going out, three coming in).

So much for continuity.

Stevens immediately warmed to the moves, in large part because the team filled some of its most glaring needs with the addition of Isaiah Thomas. All the 5-foot-10 spark plug has done in his first eight days with the team is emerge as its top offensive weapon, help the team to three wins (with two near misses against the Lakers and Warriors) and earn Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.

Thomas is the team's first Player of the Week honoree since Sullinger won the award last February. Kelly Olynyk, who we should mention has been sidelined the past 17 games with an ankle injury, is the only other Celtics player to be nominated for the award this season.

Despite all the obstacles, the Celtics still have a legitimate chance to sneak into the playoffs. And if their win over the Hawks and Sunday's highly entertaining tilt with Golden State are any indication, these guys have the potential to give a high seed fits in the postseason.

The challenge facing Stevens now is helping Boston build off its recent success despite a schedule that will test his team. The Celtics, still smarting from kicking away a 26-point lead against the Warriors on Sunday, travel to play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Eight of Boston's final 25 games come against the teams it is directly competing with for a final playoff berth in the East in Miami, Indiana, Brooklyn, Charlotte and Detroit (add in two games vs. sixth-seeded Milwaukee too). The Celtics essentially control their destiny -- beat the teams around you and sneak into the playoffs.

Even if Boston doesn't make the postseason, there's something to be gained from simply competing for a final spot over these final 25 games. The Celtics' young core has seen its confidence grow, especially in tight games. These guys still are getting to know each other given the recent moves. But Thomas, with his ability to attack in the high pick-and-roll and get to the free throw line with consistency, has been a much-needed addition to an offense that was among the bottom third in efficiency for most of the season.

This team has been a lot of fun to watch in recent weeks. Stevens has done a masterful job getting the most out of what he's been given. The only certainty over the final month and a half is that Stevens is going to put his team in position to succeed and will make sure they are always moving toward that brighter future.