Brad Stevens is now 47 years old, and the Celtics are his team in the same way they were Red Auerbach’s team in the golden days and Danny Ainge’s team when they last won an NBA championship in 2008.
As the Celtics lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 29, Stevens traded Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon and said goodbye to Grant Williams while acquiring 7-foot-1 Kristaps Porzingis and All-Star Jrue.
Holiday to join veteran superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Those big, bold moves — along with the fortunes of the once-vaunted Patriots and New England Red Sox — have pushed the Green Team’s expectations through the banner-covered fence ceiling ahead of this new NBA season.
What do you say, Brad? Can you live with the mindset of mastery or failure that covers this area at this critical moment? “I know what’s coming,” says Celtic’s permanent head of basketball operations. “The importance of expectations is good. The responsibility of wearing the Celtic uniform is part of that. It’s something we’re more excited about than not. I think it’s better if people think we’re really good with the season. It means we have good things.”
Vegas loves the 2023-24 Celtics. The New York Times picked Boston to win it all. Three of the four Globe prognosticators have the Celtics winning the Finals. Will Stevens and his Celtics have reached the NBA Final Four twice in the past two seasons, but with only one championship since 1986. Are Stevens and his Celtics ready for that kind of pressure?
“I wanted to win it every minute I was in Boston,” says Stevens, who coached the Greens for eight seasons before joining the front office two years ago. “Every day we’ve been here, it’s been the driving force and the North Star. We’ve knocked on that door quite a bit and we’ve come close.
“The good news about how far we’ve come is that we know we have a long way to go and we know we have a lot of ups and downs.
“One thing I don’t want to do is ride a roller coaster.”
Stevens (right) gave coach Joe Mazzulla (left) a big boost when he signed 7-foot-5 Kristaps Porzingis.
In that spirit, let’s look at some potential obstacles. Start by editing the list. How many big teams trade four of their eight rotation players for the new season? Does this change too much?
“It’s something we didn’t necessarily think about on June 1, but obviously Kristaps’ opportunity cost Marcus a lot,” says Stevens.
“And then the opportunity came to get Jrue and it was difficult because Malcolm and Robert were both good players. “They’re not easy things and they’re not necessarily part of a grand plan. It was more of ‘we’re ready when the opportunity comes to add some super talented guys who really think about the right things.’
Was last year’s group just full?
“I wouldn’t say this group is full,” says Stevens. “You have to constantly seek improvement. Otherwise it’s hard to get back to where you are, let alone where you want to be. So in the end we want to bet to win it all.
“If you don’t try to get better, you’re probably going to get caught. And we weren’t where we wanted to be, so getting caught wasn’t what we wanted.”
Smart and Grant Williams were very tough players. Williams III brought a level of intimidation. Are you worried about losing strength? “I really believe in the resilience of our group,” says Stevens. “Not just from the front six. Even coming off the bench. These are reliable, tough, hard-working people. Not to take away from the guys we lost, they were great in that regard. “But I believe in the competitiveness and toughness of this group. I lose sleep over a lot of things. I don’t lose sleep over it at all.”
Stevensand’s team has been to the NBA Finals and the Eastern Finals the past two seasons.
Porzingis is 7-3, but certainly not a short post player. Do you have a fairly low game with this group – offensively and defensively? “You’re always mindful of that, but the game is so much about when you’re playing against certain matchups, how are you going to double up and spin?” says Stevens.
“With the speed and quickness that’s all over the court right now, guys that are hard to match up with [Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo], they require a lot more attention than one-on-one matchups most of the time anyway.
“On the other hand, I think we can post passes and scores as well as we have any time I’ve been here. Kristap is a big reason for that.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla is only 35 years old and learned a lot on the fly last season. You brought in some coaches and advisors (Sam Cassell and Jeff Van Gundy, to name a few). Can Joe handle the NBA veterans on his shoulders?
“Joe is constantly trying to learn and grow,” says Stevens. “When you get a chance to be around Joe every day and watch him with the team and watch him practice and see the purpose and the focus and the purpose of what this group is doing, it quickly says that this guy is really good.
“Everyone here believes in Joe, from the players to his staff. I like smart, humble, hard-working people, and there’s an incredible amount of humility in the people we bring in.”
Any more words, Brad? “It’s been a very good group so far, but we haven’t played a game yet and we know that.” We know there are many ups and downs ahead.
“Let’s focus on how we can improve every day and give our best when we have to. Hopefully we’ll be good. Hopefully we’ll play well on Wednesday.
