Brad Stevens was interviewed postgame after the Celtics dropped a close one to the New York Knicks, 96-92. Boston rested all of their starters and key players, as they’re locked into the 7th seed. “I thought our guys came back, the last group played with great poise, great purpose” Said Stevens, “I thought they did a good job.”
On facing the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, Stevens said “Obviously Washington’s rolling… it starts with Westbrook and Beal… they’ve got great size… they can go way bigger with shooting… they’re a handful, Tuesday night’s going to be one heck of a challenge.”
On getting ready for the play-in, Coach Stevens said “I just kind of did the numbers from my own perspective… our assistant’s were ready for any.”
“I thought there were several guys that did that,” Stevens said about the effort against New York. “The guys that stood out to me, from my perspective, were Romeo and Tremont… you’ll be looking for minutes here and there rather than long stretches.”
As the Celtics look to gear up, Stevens will be doing his best to get his team together. “Yeah, we’ll be prepared, I have no doubt about that… I thought we had a great practice Friday… we’ll cover what we need to cover and then go out and play a fast game with a clear mind… if you win you’re in, and if you lose you’re not… you got to be appropriately prepared.”
Bill Russell has been announced as a Hall of Fame Inductee as a Head Coach. Stevens said: “We all can’t say enough great things about Bill Russell… he left an incredible legacy for us to follow here in Boston with the Celtics… he’s just such a unique guy, when he was playing he had everybody’s utmost respect because he played for one reason, he played to win… special is only reserved for a few, and Bill Russell is as special as they come.”
On reflecting on the hardships of this season, Stevens wanted to stay in the “now”. “I’m not even thinking about it right now… I think we’ll reflect certainly on the challenges of the regular season, but listen this has been really hard… we have not been perfect… we’ve dealt with a lot of negativity, but we’ve stayed together.”
