Everything Brad Stevens said in his post-regular season press conference

With the Celtics gearing up to face a still-unknown opponent, the man who put the team together took a few minutes to look back on the season. Brad Stevens held a media session while the Celtics practiced on Tuesday, talking about a wide range of topics. Here’s everything he said, with my reaction. 

On his feelings heading into the playoffs:

“I think the players, coaching staff, support staff all did a great job during the regular season. I mean, it's hard to argue right? And not only playing and getting the results that put us in position to get home court throughout, but also just the keeping the eye on the long term, with bodies and health and everything else. So I thought everybody did a really good job and they’re just going to need us to continue to all be really good in whatever role we play in here, to help support the guys.”

Karalis’ take: The 64 wins speak for themselves. The Celtics were able to navigate the long season, put up the fourth-most wins in team history, escape any major injuries, and head into the postseason as rested as an NBA team could be. What’s not to be happy about?

On this specific group of players: 

“I really like this group. This group has a lot of answers, can do a lot of things on on both sides of the ball. It's a mature group. It's an easy-to-be-around group of people. High competitive character -- really high character, generally -- an enjoyable group for sure.”

Karalis’ take: “This group has a lot of answers” is the key to the postseason, and an incredibly underrated element to this year’s team. Last year’s Celtics didn’t have this many answers to how other teams defend them. Last year’s Celtics didn’t have guys around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who could create the same way. This year’s Derrick White/Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-roll is deadlier than Marcus Smart/Robert Williams … and I loved that pick-and-roll combo. White/Porzingis are just capable of more without sacrificing much on the other end of the floor. 

And the high-character stuff is important too. The best compliment I can give this locker room is that they're boring. There's no Draymond Green lurking in there. This is a very professional group. 

On the Jrue Holiday extension

“I think we all can see it: Jrue came here, joined our team, and all he tried to do was add to winning. And for a guy that is as accomplished as he is, that's used to more usage, more reps, more touches, and all those other things, that never even came into play. All that came into play was, what kind of a teammate am I being and can I help us win? And I just think that, when you look at the kind of player that he is, what he's capable of on any given night, but also the fact that he can play off the ball and be as effective as he's been, I just think it shows another layer of what a guy can do. And I've been really impressed with Jrue and I think that, as you as you look at a person like him, and you think about the long term of a group, you think, obviously, you need really good players and guys that can play on both ends of the court. But you also want people that the young players can look up to and he is a person they should look up to, and certainly do look up to.”

Karalis’ take: I think Holiday is at the center of everything I just wrote. I loved Smart and I don’t take anything I said back, but I can also admit that the volatility he brought was not right for the group anymore. Having seen what Holiday does and how he handles himself, I think the timing was right to lean into a lower-key locker room. It has nothing to do with Smart as a person or as a player, it’s just the realization after the fact that the relationship had run its course. I don’t know if that would have been the case if Ime Udoka had still been the coach, but with Joe Mazzulla and the pivots to make sure his philosophy was maximized, the Celtics needed to go in a different direction. There's no denying that Holiday has been a perfect fit. 

On a possible Derrick White contract:

"Yeah, I mean, I can't talk about much with things that we're not allowed to discuss until July 1. Derrick's having an amazing year. Derrick's a huge, huge part of our team and we want him around for as long as we can keep him around."

Karalis’ take: I love the GM speak of “we want him around for as long as we can keep him around.” That doesn’t say anything, really, but it’s a great way of praising him without committing to anything. 

White can make more from the Celtics by going into free agency. The most he can make in an extension is a first-year salary of about $27 million. That restriction is lifted once he becomes a free agent, so I’d expect him to wait, especially considering what Holiday got. 

But don’t rule out other teams making that decision difficult. The Spurs will need someone to pair with Victor Wembanyama, and calling White back home to do that a year from now makes perfect sense. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I’ll just say I hope that doesn’t happen. 

On giving Neemias Queta the final roster spot.

"Yeah, I think that, generally, first of all, Neemi's been great when he's been with us. We've had moments this year where we've had only two bigs available, and oftentimes, with Neemi, he's been able to come in and really fill a role and keep our team at a high, high level. The likelihood of anybody that you sign at that 15th spot playing huge moments in a playoff run is pretty low. But he's shown that he's able to do that if surrounded by the right guys in the right role. That was one thing. Then obviously, with the contract that we signed, we think Neemi is more than just a right-now player, right. We think he's a guy that can help us in the future. I've been really -- if you would've asked me going into the year with our four bigs, maybe we were a little bit unproven. By the middle of the year, I was like, 'Damn, that's a really good group.' They can really play. They can play Al at the 4, Kristaps at the 4, with those guys or single without him. They gave us a lot of flexibility this year, and Neemi was a big part of that."

Karalis’ take: Queta throws a different vibe onto the floor. He’s a much more old-school, traditional center, and sometimes that's what the game needs. He can set picks, finish around the rim, rebound, and block shots. He’s never going to be an All-Star, but he can carve out a nice role for himself like this. I’ve seen him get more fluid throughout the year, so I’m very interested in how he’ll continue to grow. 

On how this season went compared to his expectations:

“I think first of all, you can never expect that you're gonna be a 64-win team. That's a really hard threshold to meet no matter how good you are. No matter how organized you are from a coaching standpoint. No matter how many options you have from a playing standpoint. That's just a hard thing to do. I don't know if that was my expectation. But being able to see what we're capable of on both ends of the court, I'm not surprised that we can be a really good basketball team. That doesn't guarantee anything. you gotta go out and continue to play well and earn it and do all those things. But we've got a lot of good players that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves and that was pretty clear from the get go. I think our job is to try to fit it all together.”

Karalis’ take: I didn’t get a big “holy wow this is beyond my wildest dreams” quote from this question, but I never should have expected Stevens to be anything but measured about this. Yes, 64 wins is very tough, and no one should ever have expected this team to be that good. It means a lot to win 64 games. 

At the same time, it doesn’t mean a damn thing because you can’t wear 64 wins around your neck and flash it like Wayne and Garth to walk your way to the Finals. You have to go earn your playoff wins.

On Joe Mazzulla’s progression as a coach:

“I said this at the end of last year, I said it at the beginning of this year: Joe did a really good job last year and then just picked right up on it this year. And obviously, you're gonna be — everybody in that second year of being a head coach learns a lot about navigating the season, the schedule, the team, and all the challenges that come along with that. I don't think that's unique to him. But I do think he's done another really good job. I think that he's as good as there is getting a group on message and staying on that message and being able to hone in on this task at hand. And this group is very consistent with that. Throughout all 82 games.”

Karalis’ take: Brad is right on the money here. Mazzulla’s greatest strength is keeping this group together and on-message. 

NBA teams can be decent if they just play hard. Then if they play hard and have talent, they can be good. And if they play hard, have talent, and are all on the same page, they can be really good. If they have all that and their coach is really good, then they're unstoppable. 

I think the Celtics are somewhere past really good and somewhere short of unstoppable at the moment … but I think they can get to unstoppable. Mazzulla is in his second season, so we don’t know how good he can be yet, but I do think he has tricks up his sleeve. I think there's another level for them to reach.

On Tatum and Brown going through a lot together:

“Yeah, I think what everybody brings is valuable, right? I think that Jayson and Jaylen have achieved a lot and have been high-level players on big stages for a long time. They've been through a lot, they've made deep runs. They've lived both the great highs and the really tough days that the playoffs bring you and so there is an experience factor there that they can help with, but we’ve got Al Horford, he's lived it as much as anybody. Jrue Holiday has won and lived it. I value some of the guys that haven't lived it as much because they'll bring a fresh naivety to it. I just think that there's power in all of that.”

Karalis’ take: I think the things Brown and Tatum have been through got them to maybe their best overall season together. They were more dominant offensive players last season, but Brown has been better without Tatum this season than he has in the past. I think Brown especially has learned to find his spots better where in the past he’d almost try to match Tatum from time to time. I think he’s found that just taking things as they come can still lead to all the success he wants. 

Tatum has been more trusting of his teammates this season, I think. He has given up some of his scoring and the offense is the best it has ever been. Time is a hell of teacher, and I think over time, these guys have learned some very effective lessons. 

On the play-in tournament, and having to wait for an opponent as a top seed:

“Yeah, I think the play-in tournaments a great thing for fan engagement, for interest. If you are a seven or eight seed clearly and, you know, you're in the play-in tournament, it's probably not as fun. I lived that a couple of years in my last year of being a head coach, but I do think that it's been great for every other which way. I think that's one of the many things I think the league has done really well and trying new things, I mean this was kind of an offshoot of the bubble, right? We had all these teams going and just because they were all going, we were gonna say if you were within a certain amount of games, you're gonna get a chance to play in for your spot and we saw how fun that was in that setting. The league jumped on it and they were smart to jump on it.”

…

“Everything is challenging in the playoffs. The one thing about the playoffs is you’d better play well, so we’re going to play a really good team right out of the gate, regardless of which of the four teams it is, and we’re gonna have to be ready and we’re gonna have to play well.”

Karalis’ take: Fans love the play-in, though I’m sure fans of the Sixers and Heat aren’t thrilled that they have to play one or two more games to hold onto seeds when they held a comfortable lead over Chicago and Atlanta. This is the type of season where an argument can be made for ditching the play-in if the lead is a certain size. 

But it is what it is. We can easily say that being asked to win a game at home against one of those teams is not a big ask, especially when you’re playing for the role of Steve Buscemi vs. the woodchipper in Fargo. 

The flip side applies to Boston. It sucks that they don’t know who their opponent is until Friday, but also, should it matter? How much prep does Boston need against one of those four teams that they don’t have already? Don’t you think they have dossiers on all these teams? 

On rumors he might be offered a college job:

“I don’t get into the rumor stuff. I’ve got a heck of an opportunity here. We’ve been here 11 years now and gotten a chance to see this team do a lot of cool things and go a long way and our goals have been the same since we moved here. We’d like to get over that hump, so I’ve got plenty enough to do right now rather than think about all that stuff.”

Karalis’ take: The last thing I expect is Stevens to get pulled into a college gig where he has to build a team AND coach it. 

Stevens is an NBA guy now. He’s not going anywhere.

On Kristaps Porzingis’ readiness:

“We’re not asking any of these guys to do it alone. It’s not on any of these guys. At the end of the day people have a tendency to focus on individuals or coaches and then you go through, after every win it’s the same story with praise and after every loss it’s the same story with scrutiny. You have to just be prepared for all of that, and Kristaps just hasn’t been as far or deep into that as some of our other guys, and I kind of think that's a good thing at times because you’re naïve in some ways and this something you’re so looking forward to if you haven’t been through it. And he’s a big part of our team, but he’s a part of our team. We’ll all travel this together and we’ll do it side by side and we’ll lean on the strengths of one another, and Kristaps, in particular, has a lot of strengths that help unlock us, that’s for sure. And hopefully he’ll continue to play well.”

Karalis’ take: They're not asking him to do anything alone, but they're asking him to be a focal point of the late-game offense. He’s going to have to take and make some important baskets for the Celtics over the next couple of months. This is why he’s here. 

On Jeff Vand Gundy’s impact:

“Jeff’s been great. And it’s all the way through that coaching staff. They’ve been terrific. Jeff, in his consultant role, our six player enhancement coaches have been amazing with our ‘stay ready’ group. I mean you watch those guys off the bench play all season, particularly in those last two games, those guys can play, and they're ready to play. And then the coaching staff has been really good at making sure we’re on the right track every single game. So I would say it’s all been great every single game. I will say this, I’ve known Jeff a long time and gotten a chance to spend a lot of time with him over the years. It is fun watching a game with him when he doesn't have to speak in 15 second sound bites. He’s pretty entertaining.” 

Karalis’ take: This team has been very low-key when it comes to what Van Gundy has meant to the team. I gues they don’t want to take away from what everyone else has done. Stevens is right about the coaching staff, and it’s something Mazzulla has highlighted when he’s won Coach of the Month. The individual coaching award is the culmination of the entire staff’s coaching. I’ve highlighted some of that over the past couple of games. All the stuff I’ve said about the professional locker room also applies to the coaching staff, and it’s been a big part of Mazzulla’s success.

On resting players down the stretch:

“I think everybody can look at it the way they want to look at it. Listen, the reality is we’re going to have to play well on Sunday and beyond. And so I’ve seen teams that go in and they have to fight, scratch, and claw for everything, and then they're rolling, right? And then I’ve seen teams go in and rest and I’ve seen both groups play well or poorly coming out of it. The bottom line is after practice today, tomorrow, Friday, we’re going to have to get ready to play well. And so I don’t know if it’s ideal or not. I’m excited everybody’s practicing today, though.” 

Karalis’ take: I mentioned it earlier, but the rest part here has been great for Boston. I think some nagging stuff has been addressed, and guys are getting a chance to recharge as much as they can. It’s been a luxury for the Celtics. They head into these playoffs with no excuses. They have a chance to practice hard after some time off and get ready for a two-month run that should end with a parade.