Brad Stevens was interviewed before the Celtics and Nets kicked off Game 4 of their series at a packed TD Garden. On injury updates for both Robert Williams and Kemba Walker, Stevens plainly said “The last I heard that we would wait until they came to get final word, but they’re both unlikely.”
On the team’s defensive effort tonight and the impact of the home crowd, Stevens said “We have to guard as hard as we can…we did a way better job [in Game 3]…control what you can…we need to be able to focus intently on doing our jobs within the line and making sure that we play with great poise…everybody’s going to be amped up to play…we don’t have many guys on our team that have played a playoff game, for the Celtics, at TD Garden…it’s great to be back to normal, it’s great to expect a full house.”
Kemba Walker’s bone bruise was a point of concern, as he’s been hampered by injuries to his knee since signing in Boston. “There was a moment…he said he felt it in Game 2… was really sore,” said Stevens. ” [Kemba] has his typical knee work that he does…then the bone bruise on top of that…was more sore after Friday’s game than he was even before that… didn’t feel very good yesterday…didn’t feel much better this morning.”
On Williams, his nagging turf toe and now ankle injury, Stevens said “The ankle injury is not like a high ankle sprain or anything that’s too significant… he is really sore… he spent the better part of each of these off-days in a boot… I thought he was more unlikely than Kemba… he’s in a lot of discomfort.”
When asked about how the team would tackle the issue at point guard, Stevens said “Marcus plays point even when Kemba’s on the court some… Marcus will play point, Payton will play point… you play to your strengths… you replace what he brings to the table with several different guys… we’re just trying to have them available… they’re both bummed… just trying to get guys back as fast as possible.”
