Celtics Coach Brad Stevens Assessed the Team’s Performance Cautiously, “We Won Two Close Games…We Played More Good Minutes Than Not, But Still Not Good Enough to Be the Best Version of Ourselves.”
In a Zoom interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, Celtic players—Kemba Walker, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Coach Brad Stevens—discuss the team’s 110-106 Game 4 victory over the 76ers and their upcoming series with the Toronto Raptors. Game 1 of the next round of the playoffs will be on WKXL at 6:30 on Thursday night.
Kemba Walker, the high scorer in Game 4 with 33 points on 53% shooting, gave credit to the 76ers and acknowledged that this was only the first round of the playoffs and that the Celtics have a long ways to go.
Coach Brad Stevens assessed the team’s performance cautiously, “We won two close games…We played more good minutes than not, but still not good enough to be the best version of ourselves.” When asked to discuss Kemba Walker’s qualities, Coach Stevens believes that Walker’s love of the game inspires to work and play hard. In particular, he praised his defense in this series.
Marcus Smart credits the team’s success to trusting each other more than last year. When asked about what motivates him to play such outstanding defense, Marcus feels that much of it is instinctual and part of it is confidence in his defensive ability.
Jaylen Brown echoed the comments of Marcus Smart about there being better team chemistry on this year’s Celtics. Jaylen remembers that they swept their first-round opponent in last year’s NBA Playoffs and lost in five games in the second round. This bad experience will hopefully push them to play harder in each round. When asked about how Kemba Walker’s and Jason Tatum’s increased scoring has enabled the team to concentrate more on defense, Jaylen Brown felt that it was very helpful because Philadelphia was a very physical team.
Jason Tatum discussed the importance of defense, especially in the playoffs. Jason pointed out the importance of playing well on both sides of the ball. He believes that the key to the Celtics defense is that, as a team, they are long and versatile.
