NBA: Celtics coach Brad Stevens in conversation: “We simply have a good group”.

Boston Celtics are leading 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals against LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers. Before Game 3 (Sun, 2:30 live on DAZN) Celtics coach Brad Stevens spoke in a conference call about the upcoming challenge and development his young team has taken.

The call took a curious turn towards the end, when a writer of a satire blog stirred up the discussion round with some questions and later ended prematurely.

Question: Mr. Stevens, Steve Kerr is considered an excellent coach because in the playoffs he doesn’t think about a single game, but always about coaching a seven-game series. Do you always have this in mind?

Stevens: I always try to think for the moment. Of course you have to change little things in the course of a series, but for me personally it is better if I only coach for the moment.

Question: Are you satisfied at the moment when you look at the minute distribution of your players in this series?

Stevens: Through game 1 the picture is a little distorted because our starters had to play less through the blowout. That’s a good thing, of course. Whenever this is possible, it is a huge relief. On the other hand, we only have seven players who then have to play many minutes. We also have some other guys who play here and there when the matchups require it, that’s why game 1 was so important to us. However, the seven players will have to play most of the minutes.

Question: One of the seven players mentioned is Aron Baynes, who was great. Did you know Baynes is such a good shot from a distance or did you only find out in the playoffs?

Stevens: When we signed him, he came to Boston this summer and hit one Jumper after the other, but from the middle distance. I then talked to him that he could also throw from the corners and from the pear. That’s what he trained in each unit. We encouraged him all year round to take these litters, especially the corner threesome. I think it gives a big man confidence to hit some of them. Good shooters with a good touch sometimes just need to see the ball go through the cage.

Question: When did you realize that Baynes now has the confidence to take these litters?

Stevens: He’s always been a good shot. If he takes three in practice, he hits 70 to 75 percent, especially from the corner. But the game against Toronto at the end of the year was probably the can opener. He met two threesomes against Jonas Valanciunas and pulled him a little out of the zone. He has more confidence since that game and we talked a lot about it in the series against Philadelphia because he was defended by Joel Embiid. Baynes was supposed to go into the corner to make some space and he did so.

Question: A lineup without Baynes that you sometimes use is that with Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris and Al Horford. This allows you to switchen almost anything from 1 to 5. Do you see this as your so-called death lineup and want to use it more often during the series?

Stevens: I don’t use it that often because Terry Rozier was very important to us in the playoffs and Baynes was one of the best defenders in the league this season. It depends on the matchup and how the team performs, but surely I will let this lineup play a few minutes again.

Question: What will change for you when the series for Games 3 and 4 is played in Cleveland and no longer at home in TD Garden. What do you expect in the next two games?

Stevens: Every team feels more comfortable when they can play in front of their own fans. Cleveland have been a great team in the playoffs both at home and abroad in recent years, so we need another strong performance. We have to start well and then preserve for 48 minutes. We have some guys who know all this, but also players who are experiencing it for the first time. But with the playoffs so far, I think we’ve grown together. We were really bad in game 3 in Milwaukee, but really good in game 4. We also played great in Game 3 in Philly. We have learned more over time and are better at dealing with these situations. At the end of the day you just have to play good basketball wherever the game takes place.

Question: Your team sometimes plays very physically in the playoffs, not only against LeBron James. Have you planned to focus on defense and physique during the postseason all season?

Stevens: I don’t think we’re playing a different style now. Our boys defended outstandingly in the playoffs – and without fouling much, always within the bounds of what was allowed. But we’ve been playing incredibly hard all year round, always helping each other with great commitment. This has been our goal throughout the year. We wanted and had to be a better defensive team. We have our periods of weakness in the offense, but the defense is strong game by game. The guys are right behind it, you can see that even more in the playoffs. But we were also really constant in the Regular Season at the back of the field.

After that it got a little strange. A journalist introduced himself as an employee of MJvsLeBron.net, later it turned out that he was a writer of the satire blog Barstool Sports. The question was as follows:

Question: Do you think you are coaching for your job security right now?

Stevens: I don’t even think about that. If you start coaching, you know it probably won’t end well. There are things you just can’t control. You just enjoy working with players, coaches and the front office. I just try to use that time and when it comes to an end, that’s the way it is.

As usual, Stevens answered seriously and was by no means upset about this question. It went on without problems.

Question: Your young players take a lot of responsibility in the playoffs. How did you get the boys to show leadership qualities at this age?

Stevens: My old boss in Butler used to say, “Put your stamp on anything you do.” This has always meant a lot to me and applies to everyone, whether young, old, coach or player. Our young players are fantastic, they are not only getting better, but also lead the team with their authentic way. At the same time, they can be coached by the older players, the assistant coaches and everyone else. We simply have a good group here with older players like Horford, Baynes or Morris and of course injured Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. This makes it very easy to learn how to do things right.

The last question of the call followed and again it was Barstool Sports, this time presented as DraftJoshAllen.net. This time it was asked if the Celtics wanted to sign LeBron James in the summer, which of course blocked Stevens immediately because he is not allowed to talk about such things. The Celtics press spokesmen immediately ended the conference call.