Back on May 6th, Brad Stevens conducted a press conference to discuss the end of the season and looking ahead to the offseason. It was a remarkably honest, straightforward, and at times, refreshingly frank session by a man that has often had to hide behind vague GM-speak (as the job usually requires).
The funny thing is that Brad still has a talent for saying a lot of thoughtful, honest things without actually giving away anything really important. As a result, that press conference has become sort
of a Rorschach test for the offseason where you see what you want in the inkblot. You can have just about any opinion about what the Celtics should do this summer and sure enough, you can find a clip that backs you up.
To prove this point, I’m going to go the extra mile, just for you. I’m going to go through the ENTIRE press conference transcript and give you my thoughts throughout. My thoughts in bold. (Please forgive the messy time-stamps; I am too lazy to make it look pretty). First, here’s the video. Text to follow.
Uh, I guess um before we get started, see Adam running in.
0:16
16 seconds
Right off the bat, Brad is signaling that if you don’t hear it from Adam Himmelsbach, you shouldn’t believe it.
Um, I think the I think I’ll just start with, you know, one of the things when the season is over,
0:23
23 seconds
um, that’s tough to reconcile is just kind of the journey and the growth and the things that go along with the abrupt
0:31
31 seconds
Oh yeah, he’s frustrated.
um, ending and certainly disappointing ending. Um, no question about it. you know, from a series review, um, before
0:40
40 seconds
we get into specific questions, I think, you know, I thought we really struggled to generate good looks against Philly. I thought they deserved to win. Uh, I
0:49
49 seconds
That’s not just a coach saying the right thing. You can tell it hurts him to say this from his expression.
thought on the other end, they um, they made it really hard on us um, and really kind of felt in control in a lot of
0:57
57 seconds
ways, especially as Embiid got his legs under him. I thought that um probably one of the defining
He really misses prime Al Horford — as do we all.
1:04
1 minute, 4 seconds
things that they did to us in games five through seven was they cleaned up the glass which had been a real boost for
The coach can’t go in there and rebound for the guys. You have to make the extra effort.
1:11
1 minute, 11 seconds
us. Our first shot offense wasn’t very wasn’t very good the whole series but we really got a lot of good looks on second chances and off the glass and I thought
Hey Joe, let’s find some better looks for these guys, huh?
1:19
1 minute, 19 seconds
they did a really good job. So, I think overall, obviously, we had chances to win. Um, and I’m sure there’ll be
Can’t believe we blew this series against a team that we own.
1:26
1 minute, 26 seconds
specific questions about that, but uh I thought overall Philly deserved to win and played a great series. Um, and and
Can’t forget to stick to the coach-speak and praise the other team, even though I’m really ticked at my team.
1:33
1 minute, 33 seconds
and made it hard on us. Uh, I guess the the tough part that the part that’s hard to reconcile is just when we were sitting here, if you would have told me
1:41
1 minute, 41 seconds
last summer that um we would have won 56 games in the regular season that you know the the young guys would all become
1:49
1 minute, 49 seconds
contributors um you know that that people would have great um impact all up and down our
1:57
1 minute, 57 seconds
roster that we would get Tatum back for 20 games or whatever it was. I would have been thrilled with those results.
Try to keep all of this in perspective. In a way, this is right where we thought we would be, just not necessarily how you expected it to happen.
2:05
2 minutes, 5 seconds
Um but the reality is is that you know we we came up short and um so you know
I know Boston fans don’t want to hear my excuses, so I’m taking this on the chin.
2:12
2 minutes, 12 seconds
now the the job is to do an honest assessment. Um you know I’ve got I’ve got a little sign above my above my desk that says what do you want? What’s true?
Everyone listen up. Everyone on this team has to be better next postseason.
2:25
2 minutes, 25 seconds
And how do you get there? And there’s no question what we want. Um there’s no question when you look at what’s true
2:32
2 minutes, 32 seconds
that um though we did a lot of good things, we lost in the first round and we um you know we were also three and 11
2:41
2 minutes, 41 seconds
against the top three seeds in the in the West and the other top two in the East and so we’ve got we’ve got to get
2:48
2 minutes, 48 seconds
better. Um and that’s been the the communication in here. Um, when just talking to the team, I think obviously
This is the Brad Stevens equivalent of standing on a desk and yelling at everyone that he’s just THIS close to firing everyone.
2:57
2 minutes, 57 seconds
these guys are really committed to growth. Um, I thought the coaches did a really good job of of of helping guys
3:04
3 minutes, 4 seconds
all get better. Um, but there’s another step to take and, you know, whether
I’m not going to fire the Coach of the Year, you sickos. He and his awesome staff are doing the best that they can. Joe and his staff can do better, but he’s good with me.
3:10
3 minutes, 10 seconds
you’re in my shoes and um or you’re, you know, in any of our support staff’s shoes or if you’re in our coach’s shoes
Joe is already booking his tickets to the Australian outback or something like that.
3:18
3 minutes, 18 seconds
or if you’re in our players shoes, we got to get better. So that’s that’s going to be the charge and the focus. Um so we’ll figure out how best to do that.
3:27
3 minutes, 27 seconds
Uh it’ll probably be a a balance of you know development and um you know at some
3:34
3 minutes, 34 seconds
point obviously with the draft coming up and free agency coming up and trying to figure out how to make our team as good as it can be. So but I don’t want to
Get ready for change, folks. I created all that cap flexibility last year and I’ve got some moves to make this summer.
3:42
3 minutes, 42 seconds
take credit away from Philly. I thought they certainly deserve to come back and win that series.
Blah blah blah. I still can’t believe we lost.
3:48
3 minutes, 48 seconds
Take questions after John. Brad, uh Jaylen has expressed a lot of frustration uh in the immediate
3:55
3 minutes, 55 seconds
aftermath of the loss and Tracy McGrady came out uh today or yesterday. Uh obviously Tracy’s close with Jaylen and
4:02
4 minutes, 2 seconds
said Jaylen has some frustrations with the organization. Have you felt any of those frustrations? Has he expressed them to you? Is the relationship with
4:10
4 minutes, 10 seconds
Jaylen? What what is Has has that evolved at all?
4:13
4 minutes, 13 seconds
Um, I talked to Jaylen Monday a little bit um after um he just real quickly and
4:21
4 minutes, 21 seconds
was nothing but positive. Uh he has not expressed those frustrations to me. Um, we’ve been here 10 years together and
That’s news to me. Jaylen and I are fine. Tracy is just buggin.
4:29
4 minutes, 29 seconds
um, I I do think that, you know, obviously I love JB and everybody around here loves JB and, um, you know, I think
4:37
4 minutes, 37 seconds
just like any of our other guys, as we get to the end of the season, I’ll be here and my door is always open and if anybody ever wants to come in and talk
Talk to me. Don’t do this grapevine, through-the-media, 3rd person stuff. Let’s hash this out if you have any problems.
4:45
4 minutes, 45 seconds
about it and talk about, you know, their team, their place, whatever the case may be, I’m all ears. And that would be 1
4:53
4 minutes, 53 seconds
through 16. Not just, you know, um, not just Jaylen, not just Jason, not just the guys that have been here. I think it’s really important to be available.
Of course, I might interrupt a discussion with Baylor about mullets in order to discuss Jaylen’s contract extension. But it is a long offseason, and I’m here for everyone.
5:04
5 minutes, 4 seconds
So, I certainly am and and none of that has been expressed to me. So Bobby,
Jaylen already told me he’s going to squash this on his Twitch stream or whatever the kids call it. So let’s kill this story quick.
5:10
5 minutes, 10 seconds
as you Brad over here, as you assess the growth that took place throughout the roster this season, but also a first round exit, how significant do you think
5:18
5 minutes, 18 seconds
the changes need to be to have a better chance at a championship next year?
5:24
5 minutes, 24 seconds
Um, you know, I think that it’s if we if we
Play better.
5:32
5 minutes, 32 seconds
do a better job defending the three at the end of the third quarter in game five, we’re probably talking about what
That’s how close it can be.
5:38
5 minutes, 38 seconds
our plans are for game two tonight. So, there are margins here. Our margin for error needs to get bigger.
5:48
5 minutes, 48 seconds
Um, and at the same time, I don’t think we’re like way far away. Um, but we’ve lived it
This is a quote that you can use to support either blowing things up OR keeping things together.
5:56
5 minutes, 56 seconds
here. You know, we’ve been, again, this is where the honest assessment part’s got to come in, right? We’ve been to six
6:03
6 minutes, 3 seconds
Eastern Conference finals, a couple finals in the last few years. We’ve been to like we’ve won one. Um, and when you
When you put it that way, it sounds like underachieving. But don’t forget how hard it is to win the one.
6:11
6 minutes, 11 seconds
get beat in the first round, you’re not you’re not there. Um, so we need to be I I think that the moves um to get there
Not good enough, blow it up!
6:20
6 minutes, 20 seconds
obviously you have to consider the other teams that are that are at those levels um and team and I think the other thing
6:28
6 minutes, 28 seconds
that you have to consider especially for next year is there were a lot of teams in the NBA that were playing for draft
6:35
6 minutes, 35 seconds
positioning this year and that will not be the case next year and so the league’s going to be a lot better. The regular season’s going to be a lot
Don’t expect this team to coast to 50 wins on the backs of a bunch of try-hards.
6:42
6 minutes, 42 seconds
harder. Um, and it will probably give you a better indication of what everybody really is.
6:52
6 minutes, 52 seconds
Brad, you mentioned the the offense before. Um, your three-point shooting rate in this postseason, last postseason went up above 50% in those series more
7:00
7 minutes
than the regular season. Is that something organizationally you guys will kind of take a look at in terms of tactically? Do you need to diversify
7:08
7 minutes, 8 seconds
more there or is that simply, you know, this is kind of what our roster is built for? is we just need to do it better.
BRobb asks the question of the offseason because it prompts some real interesting responses from Brad here.
7:14
7 minutes, 14 seconds
Uh you you know I look at it more well first of all I think it’s really fair.
7:20
7 minutes, 20 seconds
Um and we need to look at everything. Um and I think that’s that’s going to be the charge. The other thing that we haven’t been done this early in a while
Ouch.
7:28
7 minutes, 28 seconds
and so there’s you know there’s there’s time to do deep dives and it’s really important that we all do them. Um, I
7:35
7 minutes, 35 seconds
will say that um I look at more each shot individually and my my general um feeling watching us
7:45
7 minutes, 45 seconds
play in really each of the last two playoffs um in the second round against New York, even against Orlando in the first round
This isn’t just recency bias. This goes back to last year as well.
7:54
7 minutes, 54 seconds
was we had a hard time generating really good looks on that first shot. Um, so we got to figure out a way to do to do
We need to make better, quicker decisions. That’s on the coaching staff and the players but we also might need better offensive players.
8:02
8 minutes, 2 seconds
better in that. And I think that that’s um, you know, again, I think that one of the things that we’ve got to figure out
8:10
8 minutes, 10 seconds
is how to how to have more um more of an impact at the rim. And I think we need we do need to add to our team to do
You know who would have an impact on the rim? A guy named Giannis. I’m not saying that we’ll get him, but I’m not not saying that either.
8:19
8 minutes, 19 seconds
that. So I think that there’s, you know, it’s it’s everybody plays a role in that. But um you know at the end of that
8:27
8 minutes, 27 seconds
game um you know Embiid is standing at the rim on all those possessions or a
We really need a reliable big man rotation.
8:34
8 minutes, 34 seconds
lot of those possessions, right? And so um I thought the shots we took with the exception of Jaylen’s um top of the key
8:42
8 minutes, 42 seconds
three and the the one where he had in the middle of the lane and then and then um Payton’s open shot. I thought they were really well defended. I thought we
8:51
8 minutes, 51 seconds
we struggled to get to where we wanted to go on offense a lot of the series, but particularly in
My kingdom for a real playmaking guard that can initiate a coherent offense and get some buckets himself.
8:58
8 minutes, 58 seconds
those last four games when those four perimeter defenders who are all very good had Embiid standing behind them.
9:08
9 minutes, 8 seconds
Brad, just from your perspective, kind of following on that question, what is the organizational play style that you want the team to have as you’re constructing the roster? What do you
9:15
9 minutes, 15 seconds
feel like that needs to be for this team? I just want to win. And you you you don’t I don’t think play style comes
9:23
9 minutes, 23 seconds
before roster. You got to figure out who you have and then play to the strengths of your team. But that’s on both ends of the court.
We jacked up a lot of 3’s because our guys generally shoot well but also can’t get to the rim consistently. Joe did the best he could with the roster I gave him (under the tax constraints).
9:31
9 minutes, 31 seconds
And and listen, I thought our I thought our coaching staff did an amazing job this year. Um the series I think we all
9:39
9 minutes, 39 seconds
could have done better. There’s no question about it. And I think we’re all looking forward to improving off of that. Um, but I think it starts with we
9:47
9 minutes, 47 seconds
have to put the best roster we possibly can to together and then um we need to
9:54
9 minutes, 54 seconds
maximize the strengths of that group. um you know this year some strengths um
Some of this is aw-shucks, I gotta do a better job of building a team. Which is partially true, but partially covering for Joe and the coaching staff and even the players.
10:01
10 minutes, 1 second
appeared that you know were I thought a direct result of really good development um and really good coaching and and um
Rah rah!
10:11
10 minutes, 11 seconds
and we need to you know again look at whoever we have next you know in July and figure out how to build our best
10:17
10 minutes, 17 seconds
team and play style should be dependent on who’s on your team Brad how did it get to the point I know
10:26
10 minutes, 26 seconds
he talked a little bit about the other day where Jason had to be shut down for the game seven. I know he had confidence after game six that he was going to be good to go, but you know,
10:33
10 minutes, 33 seconds
organizationally, how did that decision end up getting made?
10:38
10 minutes, 38 seconds
Yeah, I mean, I think he had obviously you could you probably could see it at the end of game six. We we thought that it would dissipate and be okay the next
10:46
10 minutes, 46 seconds
day. Um he didn’t do very much on Friday, just rested and then came in on Saturday morning and tried to do a
10:54
10 minutes, 54 seconds
workout. But I watched it um and clearly didn’t feel right and it was, you know,
We aren’t going to risk the rest of Jayson’s career for a “gap-year” Game 7.
11:02
11 minutes, 2 seconds
and and um I don’t I I think it’s, you know, it’s it’s not like a a long
11:08
11 minutes, 8 seconds
long-term concern, but it certainly um didn’t look right when he was working
11:15
11 minutes, 15 seconds
out um and um didn’t feel right. And so it made sense to um be smart about that.
11:22
11 minutes, 22 seconds
I mean, I think the the obvious answer, u Bobby, is anytime you’re coming back from an injury like he was coming from, you know, there’s a tendency to
11:30
11 minutes, 30 seconds
overcompensate and, you know, there’s probably a little bit of that there.
11:36
11 minutes, 36 seconds
Brad, going back to what you were saying about roster building and maximizing that strategically,
11:44
11 minutes, 44 seconds
um, when you guys shoot 46 threes a game and are 10th in percentage in the
11:50
11 minutes, 50 seconds
postseason, do you feel that you guys three-point shooting three-point shooting was a big enough uh strength for this team to justify that strategy?
12:02
12 minutes, 2 seconds
Again, I’d go back to every shot and and and if we watched every shot together, I think that that would be, you know,
Seriously, we’re going back to this storyline? Here, I’ll repeat myself because you don’t get it. This is as close as Brad will come to the scene in Good Will Hunting when he lights the paper with the math proof on fire.
12:10
12 minutes, 10 seconds
would would any of us not feel good about Jaylen’s top of the key three or Payton’s corner three, right? Like those shots are amazing shots, wide
12:19
12 minutes, 19 seconds
open, hard to get, especially in those moments against those great defenses. I think the biggest the biggest thing is is can we generate looks at the rim?
My kingdom for a big man that can attack the rim. Wait, don’t tell Jon Horst that.
12:29
12 minutes, 29 seconds
Yeah, everybody wants to do that. And every one of us would prefer a dunk over that over a three. Every single one of us. Those are hard to get and we
I’m going to sign Russell Westbrook just to mess with all of you.
12:37
12 minutes, 37 seconds
struggle to generate them. And um and so yeah, there are there were we certainly
12:44
12 minutes, 44 seconds
shot some bad ones. I’m not not telling you we didn’t. There’s no question about that. Um but I also thought we shot some
12:52
12 minutes, 52 seconds
really hard shots at the rim and some really hard shots in the in the mid-range, too. So, uh, and I and I and I don’t necessarily fault anyone for
13:00
13 minutes
that other than credit to Philly’s defense, and we’ve got to do a good job as we build out the roster to have more options.
13:09
13 minutes, 9 seconds
Brad, you mentioned putting the best roster you possibly could together. Are there any potential drastic moves you would consider making to do a bit of an
13:18
13 minutes, 18 seconds
overhaul rather than just one or two smaller pieces here and there to improve yourselves? I I think the biggest I think the biggest thing is we will we
Ha, do you really think I’m going to give you a straight answer on this?
13:27
13 minutes, 27 seconds
will like we normally do take a little bit of time before we all meet and sit down and get together and determine kind
13:35
13 minutes, 35 seconds
of the best course of action for building a the best team that we can that’s also sustainable over a long period.
Yes, we are considering everything, but we aren’t going to make an emotional decision the day after losing in the 1st round.
13:43
13 minutes, 43 seconds
The one thing as frustrating as last summer was for all of us, right, is because we had I mean we were we were in
I hate giving up good players for cap flexibility. But that was the name of the game last summer.
13:52
13 minutes, 52 seconds
it with regard to those aprons and in the CBA and and we needed to give ourselves more s more flexibility to
Now the trick is to use the flexibility to get better. It is easier to tear down than to build up.
14:00
14 minutes
create a longer window. And again, if you would have asked me last summer, the the end result of that would that probably was going to hurt us this year.
We were expecting a “gap year.”
14:10
14 minutes, 10 seconds
um how that would be again I didn’t know and I certainly again wasn’t going to put a ceiling on our team regardless
Man, I’ve been saying a lot of stuff to justify making moves this summer, I better dial it back a little to support the team we have.
14:18
14 minutes, 18 seconds
but you know it probably did and so now we have to um you know use what we can um
14:28
14 minutes, 28 seconds
to build this thing moving forward and add to it. Whatever moves that means I have no idea. Um, but I also I don’t
14:38
14 minutes, 38 seconds
take for granted how good we’ve been when we’ve been full.
Boom. If you need a quote to justify running it back with minimal changes, here’s your quote.
14:42
14 minutes, 42 seconds
When we’ve been full and um all on the court and playing together, we’ve been a good basketball team. Those are hard to
14:50
14 minutes, 50 seconds
get. And um so we just have to be better around the margins.
See, forget about Giannis and all your star hunting trades. We just need to build around the Jays and everything will be great. I think.
14:57
14 minutes, 57 seconds
with um Jason over to uh he mentioned to us Sunday like that wasn’t altogether surprising that he would have you know
15:05
15 minutes, 5 seconds
setback whatever you want to call it. Um and he alluded to his minutes. He goes, you know, I went up to 40ome minutes a few times. I’m playing heavy workload.
15:14
15 minutes, 14 seconds
How did you guys get to the point like after six weeks you felt comfortable him playing more than 40 minutes a game? Um kind of what were those discussions like? And then just in general, what did
15:23
15 minutes, 23 seconds
you think of of his comeback and his recovery and where that puts him heading into next season?
Doc Rivers used to have a great line where he would say “you guys know, ‘Doc’ is just a nickname, right?”
15:28
15 minutes, 28 seconds
Yeah, I mean, we have a sports performance group that works closely with our coaches that works closely with
15:36
15 minutes, 36 seconds
um the individual um physical therapists um in in this
15:42
15 minutes, 42 seconds
case, Nick Sang. and you build up um you build up your condition to to get to
The people who went to school for medicine all said it was fine. Get off my back.
15:49
15 minutes, 49 seconds
where you can go and where we think would be best ideal to go. Obviously, there’s no like um you know when people
15:57
15 minutes, 57 seconds
say a minute restriction of 30 minutes, if you play 30 minutes and 30 seconds , there’s no like science that says that
Science! Yeah!
16:04
16 minutes, 4 seconds
extra 30 seconds is too much, right? Um but but he did play a lot of minutes. Uh we did try to ramp him up for more
16:12
16 minutes, 12 seconds
playoff load and playoff minutes towards the end of the regular season, including um a couple of the games there late where we kept him in even though the
16:20
16 minutes, 20 seconds
games weren’t necessarily close just to get his minutes up. And that’s the that that is a that is a part of this kind of
16:28
16 minutes, 28 seconds
load management era that I think has been um that that we have a lot of discussions about. Um because I think
16:36
16 minutes, 36 seconds
Phil Kohl’s and his group do a great job and a big part of that is is you know
We have really smart people on this. I just named another one.
16:42
16 minutes, 42 seconds
they say you have to be ready to play those kind of meaningful minutes and those kind of meaningful moments. Are do
16:50
16 minutes, 50 seconds
we think that that had a um impact on um his his knee stiffness and and the injury in game six?
Can’t rule anything out.
17:01
17 minutes, 1 second
Hard to tell, but you can’t cross it off. So, we have to look at that and I know that they will, but I feel really comfortable that they’ve they worked
17:10
17 minutes, 10 seconds
their butts off to try to get us um get everybody on the court and they did an amazing job with JT and he did an
17:16
17 minutes, 16 seconds
amazing job all year and to be able to play a lot if needed.
Jayson was going to ask to play 48 minutes anyway.
17:26
17 minutes, 26 seconds
Brad, um throughout the last four years, you’ve lost as the higher seed. You’ve lost multiple home games. You lost
17:34
17 minutes, 34 seconds
three. What is the common thread there where you’re losing so much at home in the playoffs? Does this team need a
17:42
17 minutes, 42 seconds
leadership overhaul? Not at the top. I’m talking about on on the team like do you need more leaders? the elite and how do
17:50
17 minutes, 50 seconds
you kind of move forward and become a a more consistent franchise when I mean because it seems like prosperity is
17:58
17 minutes, 58 seconds
something you guys struggle with and have for years.
18:01
18 minutes, 1 second
I I I think that’s a legitimate question. Um and you know I would say um
Thank you for setting me up. I wanted to talk about this.
18:08
18 minutes, 8 seconds
the prosperity you know human nature is human nature for a reason. Um but you
18:14
18 minutes, 14 seconds
know we win we win game one um you know and played pretty well and then we did
18:21
18 minutes, 21 seconds
not play well in game two and it goes back 1-1. You know it doesn’t matter how much you win by in these series they all count as one, right? It doesn’t matter
18:29
18 minutes, 29 seconds
how much you lose by, they all count as one. Um, but you go back to our championship year and we did that in the Miami series and the Cleveland series
18:38
18 minutes, 38 seconds
with a with a very experienced um, good team. Now you go back to the Miami series three years ago, we had lead big lead in game one, right?
This goes back years, and even in the championship year, it happened. So you can’t just write it off as a fluke thing. This is something that is consistently happening. This is a problem.
18:50
18 minutes, 50 seconds
You go back to the New York series last year, big lead game one and two. You go back to game five this year. And so to
18:59
18 minutes, 59 seconds
me it is somewhat prosperity within the game and and being able to in those moments
Part of me wonders if he’s talking about the roster as a whole here or if he’s looking at the stars and questioning their mentality when they have success/prosperity.
19:07
19 minutes, 7 seconds
be even more dialed in and locked in and recognize that you know yeah we should have played better in game we could have
19:14
19 minutes, 14 seconds
played better in game seven. We could have played better on the road in game six. We had a chance to close that out in game five and Embiid’s Embiid’s level
19:23
19 minutes, 23 seconds
and Embiid coming back had a big part of that because he went on the run where he scored in the post a few times. But then
19:30
19 minutes, 30 seconds
the un kind of the the the the backb breaker part or the part that brought them right back in the game was they made about four or five threes right
19:37
19 minutes, 37 seconds
before the end of the third and then it’s a game, you know, and then instead of a 13point game being 15 at the start
19:45
19 minutes, 45 seconds
of the fourth quarter, it’s a lower, more manageable, you know, margin. And so those are things we got to get better
19:52
19 minutes, 52 seconds
with. And um I don’t think we’re the only team. I think there’s a lot of I think there’s a lot of teams with how many teams shoot as well as they shoot
There is some randomness in today’s game as a result of the 3 point shot.
20:01
20 minutes, 1 second
um and how people can go on flurries um that that deal with that. But I but I don’t think we should ignore it. I think
20:08
20 minutes, 8 seconds
that’s a big that’s a big talking point for sure. And I and I think I think Gary in a lot of those cases I think for
20:16
20 minutes, 16 seconds
whatever reason we slowed down and and um and when you slow down in the playoffs and get a little bit, you know,
20:24
20 minutes, 24 seconds
you’re trying to protect something, whatever the case may be. I mean, the guys you’re playing against, these are the best players on the other teams and
20:32
20 minutes, 32 seconds
they’re the best athletes left in the league, right? like those four guys we were trying to drive the ball against this week, those are guy those guys are
20:39
20 minutes, 39 seconds
elite athletes and they’re hard to beat individually. And so you have to you
We really need guys that can break down defenses and attack the rim. Did I stutter?
20:45
20 minutes, 45 seconds
really have to play great to get what you want. And if if you take your foot
20:52
20 minutes, 52 seconds
off the gas at any point, it’s going to come back to bite you. And again, was it a little bit of us doing that? Was it a
Maybe we need a little more killer instinct.
21:01
21 minutes, 1 second
lot of Philly just playing really well in that stretch? Yeah, that could have been. But there’s enough of a three years. Those three years, I agree with
21:09
21 minutes, 9 seconds
you. And I would even say our championship year. I mean, we need to get better in those moments.
That seems pointed right at the top of the roster. Both Jaylen and Jayson need to be better.
21:17
21 minutes, 17 seconds
Brad, right here. Hi.
21:20
21 minutes, 20 seconds
Jaylen was fined for comments made about officiating. Said that he felt like there was an an agenda against him. What was your assessment of the officiating?
21:32
21 minutes, 32 seconds
I’m not going to get into officiating in our series. Um just, you know, I don’t think that does me any good. Um doesn’t
Nice try. I’m not going to get fined. It doesn’t benefit me or the team at all.
21:40
21 minutes, 40 seconds
do us any good. We’re going to focus on us, focus on our own improvement, focus on getting better. Um I think that um
21:50
21 minutes, 50 seconds
you know, it’s a physical game in the playoffs. You know, all all the you know, there’s there will be some outlier
21:57
21 minutes, 57 seconds
big scoring games, but they’re not going to be as many as people got used to in the regular season and it’s a much it’s
22:04
22 minutes, 4 seconds
a it’s a very very physical game Brad with with Joe you mentioned a lot
22:11
22 minutes, 11 seconds
of these you know troubles getting to the rim some of the inconsistencies in the playoffs that you were talking about via Gary’s question the last few years
22:19
22 minutes, 19 seconds
obviously there’s been a lot of regular season success obviously 2024 can’t be ignored but with all of those trends that you mentioned were maybe even
22:27
22 minutes, 27 seconds
consistent through that 2024 season if you look at the job Joe has done. How pleased are you with what he’s done so far and how confident are you with his
22:35
22 minutes, 35 seconds
future with the Celtics still after the last two seasons of exits?
Ok, here we go with the Joe questions.
22:39
22 minutes, 39 seconds
Yeah, I mean I think first of all I know how hard that job is and I know all that goes into it and I know he and his staff are putting everything they can into it.
22:48
22 minutes, 48 seconds
Um and you know when I say that we struggle to get by that I think that’s his again that’s we need to add to our
22:57
22 minutes, 57 seconds
team. Um, so I think our coaching staff, um, like all of us can continue to
I need to give the chef better ingredients to cook with.
23:05
23 minutes, 5 seconds
improve and get better. That said, I think they’re very good and we need to continue to provide them the resources
23:15
23 minutes, 15 seconds
um to grow and um, and to get better and to continue to be the best that we can be. I think, you know, again, I I don’t
Joe has some learning and growing to do, as we all do. But that’s fine.
23:22
23 minutes, 22 seconds
think we can ignore um and certainly again it’s like can’t ignore anything good and the bad, but
23:30
23 minutes, 30 seconds
there were there was a lot of growth this year. Um and and I thought that there was a lot of things that we can
23:37
23 minutes, 37 seconds
build off of even though the ending was disappointing.
Thank goodness Joe developed those younger wings. They are cheap and are going to be critical to building out a roster that stays under the aprons now that the Jays are so expensive.
23:41
23 minutes, 41 seconds
Brad, do you ever feel like you shoot too many threes? The bad ones? Yeah. Yeah. Sure.
Again? Come on.
23:50
23 minutes, 50 seconds
Yeah, but I but I but I but I I don’t like for me it’s again you go Tony I I look at every shot is and so for me it’s
23:59
23 minutes, 59 seconds
evaluating each and every shot but yeah um if we come down and shoot a really tough contested
24:06
24 minutes, 6 seconds
three when a guy’s wide open at the rim or if we have an action that we can get to. Sure. Yeah. I mean I think anyone would say that. I think I think Joe
24:15
24 minutes, 15 seconds
would be the first to say that. Um, and I also think that, you know, we have to do our best to generate the best
24:22
24 minutes, 22 seconds
possible look we can. But yeah, I think we’re all we all would love dunks. I would love dunks.
If I could draft Wemby, I would. Give me a break.
24:29
24 minutes, 29 seconds
So, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dropped.
24:32
24 minutes, 32 seconds
The reason I ask is because you’ve said many times we’d rather have dunks and yet a couple of years ago, I think
24:39
24 minutes, 39 seconds
he said three-point rate. Joe said the three-point rate is the most important stat in basketball. So, how does that square?
24:50
24 minutes, 50 seconds
I don’t know. I don’t remember him saying that, so I don’t I don’t want to get into specifics on that. Um, I think
The look on his face at this moment is priceless.
24:56
24 minutes, 56 seconds
that the three-pointer after dunks and free throws or layups and free throws if
25:03
25 minutes, 3 seconds
it’s not a contested layup by a giant and you’re a, you know, a little guy, um, is a an open kickout three is a good
25:12
25 minutes, 12 seconds
shot. And those are the ones we are we would like to get. Absolutely. And you know there are times where even a pullup
25:20
25 minutes, 20 seconds
contested three is a good shot. If it’s a two for one or if it’s a situation where you got a guy backtracking on his heels, whatever the case may be, your person has the bright amount of talent.
Often times, a 3 pointer is the best shot you can take. It depends on the situation.
25:30
25 minutes, 30 seconds
But each shot should be evaluated for what were your other options on that
Make the next right play. Classic coaching speak.
25:35
25 minutes, 35 seconds
possession. Um, I think that for me this all goes back to, right, and I know
25:43
25 minutes, 43 seconds
I know the threes are a big talking point, but it all goes back to being able to generate the best looks. And,
25:52
25 minutes, 52 seconds
you know, with more options, we can help him and help this team get the best possible looks. And it may very well be
26:00
26 minutes
a wide openen three if that’s what certainly you’re able to generate because you can’t get the other stuff.
26:08
26 minutes, 8 seconds
Uh Brad, this roster was unique in that it felt like every night there was a different guy stepping up. The rotations changed a lot. Some guys were getting DNP points when other times they were
26:16
26 minutes, 16 seconds
starting. Do you feel like that inherently was a challenge going into the postseason to figure out how to maximize that kind of roster? Obviously, we see game seven, three guys started
26:25
26 minutes, 25 seconds
that hadn’t really played much in the series. like was what did you kind of make of the rotations and just the fact that this was an a little bit of an unusual roster during the regular season and kind of trans the playoffs?
Quality question asked by Noa here.
26:35
26 minutes, 35 seconds
It was an unusual roster in that you know that but you know we just we we had a lot of unproven
26:43
26 minutes, 43 seconds
young players that had really not contributed at a meaningful level yet in
The playoffs often expose young players because they haven’t seen anything like that level of intensity before.
26:49
26 minutes, 49 seconds
their careers and and really showed themselves capable of that. Um,
26:56
26 minutes, 56 seconds
oftentimes as a coach and as a staff, it’s a lot easier if some do and some don’t because then there’s a clear
27:04
27 minutes, 4 seconds
demarcation line. Um, but that’s a good problem to have. And so I thought that
We have a jumble of good, young players, so it is hard to decide who to roll the dice on for any one game, never mind a high stakes playoff atmosphere.
27:12
27 minutes, 12 seconds
um that was one of the positives is that we have a lot of good young contributors and we didn’t know that coming into this
27:20
27 minutes, 20 seconds
year. Again, I I think this is the this is the this is why this is hard for me to reconcile three days after the after the playoffs because I’m I’m pissed.
One of us.
27:30
27 minutes, 30 seconds
Like I’d rather be playing New York tonight. Like we all would. But we also
27:37
27 minutes, 37 seconds
we also as I look back right I I didn’t you know we we didn’t have a team that
27:45
27 minutes, 45 seconds
was as experienced or as um you know certainly as ready for that moment as
27:54
27 minutes, 54 seconds
you know we’ve had in the past. And so, um, for me, I see there’s positives in that because these are experiences that
It wasn’t all bad. It was a really productive, fun, learning experience of a season.
28:01
28 minutes, 1 second
will then add up for these guys to take advantage of in the future. But when you’re in when you’re in the midst of it and you have a chance, you you know, you wish you would still be playing.
28:14
28 minutes, 14 seconds
You brought up the the record versus the top teams in the league. Um, and obviously you lost in the first round.
28:21
28 minutes, 21 seconds
How much of a gap do you feel like there was between the regular season which made you guys look like one of the favorites and the reality of this team
28:30
28 minutes, 30 seconds
and how will that guide you going into the offseason?
28:35
28 minutes, 35 seconds
Well, I think I think it’s it’s a it’s a really fair question and I think you could look at both us and Philly, right?
28:40
28 minutes, 40 seconds
So, Philly doesn’t have their whole team all year. Paul George gets suspended for 25 games. Embiid plays 30 to 40 games, whatever he plays, and then all of a
28:48
28 minutes, 48 seconds
sudden, game five, middle of the game, it’s like, oh, that’s that’s that’s a lot of
28:56
28 minutes, 56 seconds
talent on the court on the other side of the floor, and they’re a seven seed, right? And so each team has its own
Don’t forget, they had some good players get healthy all of a sudden.
29:04
29 minutes, 4 seconds
story and each team is um, you know, playing at a level that they’re at when you get to the playoffs. And so that’s
29:13
29 minutes, 13 seconds
why when the playoffs start, you know, if you’re fortunate enough to make it, everybody’s zero and zero. And
29:21
29 minutes, 21 seconds
those teams that have had ups and downs get a fresh start. And those teams that have played well all year, they are zero
29:29
29 minutes, 29 seconds
zero, too. And so, um, it’s a it’s an interesting question simply because
29:36
29 minutes, 36 seconds
I don’t want to take we have to play well in the regular season to get to where we want to go. And so, like, we don’t want to undesell the regular
Don’t worry Adam Silver, I’m not trying to say it was all meaningless before the postseason.
29:45
29 minutes, 45 seconds
season. Um, that said, as as I look at us honestly, um, I think that how we played against
29:53
29 minutes, 53 seconds
the best teams is relevant and should be taken into account as we look at our team moving forward.
We need more talent and we need to win games against the best.
30:01
30 minutes, 1 second
Final couple questions, Vuc had a decent start for you guys, but didn’t see the court in game seven. So, how do you assess his season and just his future here?
30:11
30 minutes, 11 seconds
Yeah, I mean, he’s our only um unrestricted free agent. Um, and uh, you know, I thought obviously getting traded
There’s only so much I can say here.
30:19
30 minutes, 19 seconds
here when he did, he had some moments broke his finger that probably set him back. And then, you know, this was a hard matchup for all of us um, in
30:28
30 minutes, 28 seconds
particular. Um, he was a, you know, I think I think when I looked at it the other day, he ended up being a plus in the series, but it was back and forth
It wasn’t as bad as it looked.
30:37
30 minutes, 37 seconds
with all those guys. And to be honest, one of the things with Neimi was just figuring out how to keep him on the floor, right? Because he was, you know,
If Neemi doesn’t make dumb fouls, then Vuc isn’t pressed into heavy minutes and we aren’t having this discussion.
30:45
30 minutes, 45 seconds
we had two games where he was off the floor in four minutes. Um, so it was good to see Nimi have his best game in
30:53
30 minutes, 53 seconds
game seven and something he could really build off of. Um, but I thought that Vu gave us, you know,
31:00
31 minutes
gave us all that he had and um, did what we asked and it was a hard matchup and, um, I have a lot of respect for Vu as a
31:09
31 minutes, 9 seconds
as a person and as a pro and, um, you know, I thought he was really good in our locker room. Thought he was a really good person to have around. You know, certainly positive experience with him.
Happy trails Vuc. Good luck wherever you can find more than the minimum.
31:20
31 minutes, 20 seconds
Final question, Zach. Brad, how would you evaluate Hugo’s rookie season as a whole and what caused his role to kind of shrink over the final month or so?
31:29
31 minutes, 29 seconds
Yeah, I mean, I probably should have said this when Noa asked her question, but it’s not like
31:36
31 minutes, 36 seconds
our job as front office is here’s the team, the the role questions and when people play and how many people play,
31:44
31 minutes, 44 seconds
right? That’s that’s what a coach has to do. And it’s it’s really hard when again there’s not clear separation.
Hugo was as good as the rest of them, but coach can’t play everyone.
31:52
31 minutes, 52 seconds
And the reality is is Hugo was had a great rookie year and is I think a
31:59
31 minutes, 59 seconds
critical part of us moving forward because his athleticism can meet the moment in the big games.
I’m not trading Hugo for anyone this offseason.
32:06
32 minutes, 6 seconds
That’s that’s a that’s a real thing. You can see it. You know it. His strength is off the charts. Um he’s probably the strongest he’s one of the strongest guys
32:15
32 minutes, 15 seconds
on our team pound-for-pound right now as a 20- year old. Um so he’s got a bright future. That said, he wasn’t he didn’t separate himself from those other guys.
He was a rookie. It happens.
32:26
32 minutes, 26 seconds
And so, you know, as a as a as a front office person, I can’t sit here and say that one person should have been playing over another should have been playing over another. It wasn’t there wasn’t
32:35
32 minutes, 35 seconds
enough separation. I I knew Jaylen should be playing, you know. I knew I knew Derek should be playing. I knew Payton should be playing, you know, and
32:43
32 minutes, 43 seconds
um but at the end of the day, that’s part of part of a team. Um but I’m encouraged by all of them, but there wasn’t a lot of separation.
32:53
32 minutes, 53 seconds
Okay. Thank you, Brad. Thank you, everybody.
And that’s the full press conference. Did you get anything from it during this read-through that you didn’t catch the first time? Did you pick up on anything that I didn’t touch on with my comments? Let me know in the comments below.
