Brad Stevens was interviewed pregame before the Celtics matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Stevens was asked about the pressure with this matchup and only six games to go, and the challenge the Bulls present.
“Well this is a much different challenge…this is their best version…they looked great last night…they can play big, they can play physical, they have two all-stars…they gave us fits with their length and activity…tonight will be really difficult.”
After being diagnosed with turf toe a few days ago, Robert Williams is a scratch for tonight. Stevens said “he’s meeting with specialists…he almost sat out Wednesday. He’s gonna sit tonight, and I don’t know what his availability will be like any time in the next week.” Javonte Green and Daniel Theis were brought up after Boston dealt the two in a salary move with Chicago.
On Javonte Green, Stevens had nothing but good things to say. “Ultimate energy raiser, great teammate, obviously great athlete…thought he played well again last night…I think the world of Javonte.” Jabari Parker may get some run with the injuries adding up for Boston, and Coach Stevens said “we’re also dealing with some guys missing, so we may see him again. He’s still just learning on how we play…in the last couple of games, we just decided to go with other guys…”
On the Celtics locker room, Stevens said despite the team’s struggles, it was never about the characters of their players. “It’s a good group of guys. They compete, they play together, they care about each other, they’re accountable when things don’t go well, they’re easy to coach — all that good stuff.”
