WALTHAM, Mass. – The Boston Celtics are five games above .500 for the first time during the Brad Stevens era, and, at 18-13, are off to their hottest start since the 2010-11 season.
Avery Bradley, who was a rookie during that 2010-11 campaign, has been patiently riding out Boston’s rebuild over the last couple of seasons. He’s now seeing the positive results of that reconstruction in the win column, and says the wait is paying off.
“It shows that the organization is obviously moving in the right direction as far as not only the players that they’re [acquiring], but the development of the players and even the coaches,” Bradley said prior to Celtics’ practice Wednesday afternoon.
One contributing factor to this season’s success is the team’s sense of continuity. During Stevens’ first two campaigns, there was constant roster turnover, which made it difficult for the C’s to gain and maintain chemistry.
There have been no significant roster moves since the summer, which Evan Turner says is greatly impacting the team’s success.
“When you have some of the same team back that helps,” said Turner. “I think last year we were trying to figure out what we were going to do with the roster, but this year we’re all acclimated, we kind of have standards that are set and [we have] competitive people, so that’s definitely been great for us.”
That perpetuity has been great for Stevens as well. Practices have been flowing smoother because the players are now familiar with each other and with the system in general.
“Continuity helps because when we go in the film room today and when we go into practice today, everybody can quickly see the areas where we need to improve,” said Stevens. “You can quickly see the areas where we’re doing well. There’s a rhythm to practice that these guys are now used to, there’s a rhythm to their workout after practice that they’re used to, so I think that stuff all helps.
“It helps you get through practice more expeditiously because you’re not explaining much. You’re just moving onto the next thing.”
Wednesday afternoon, the Celtics were focused on moving onto their next matchup. They will host the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night when Kobe Bryant makes his last appearance in TD Garden.
Boston will try to spoil his farewell, however, and continue its winning ways.
The C’s are currently riding a four-game winning streak – their longest of the season – though Stevens says there are still several improvements to make by the time they hit the court Wednesday night.
“We just have too many possessions right now that we’re not maximizing, and hopefully we can do that a little bit better,” said Stevens. “It is encouraging that we’ve been able to find a way [to win], but I think if we play without maximizing possessions, we certainly put a lot of risk into the game.”
Boston has experienced that risk during each game of its current winning streak. The team has gone through a handful of stretches in which it has had difficulty scoring and allowed the opposition to battle back.
The solution, according to Stevens, is simply to find the right shots when the offense is going through those struggles.
“If you haven’t scored in a few possessions in a row, there’s gotta be an attacking mindset and a don’t settle mindset,” said Stevens, “and I think that sometimes we settle a little bit.”
Fortunately, Boston’s defense has been a consistent positive. That’s an encouraging asset to fall back on when the offense is having difficulty finding the bottom of the net.
“One thing that I am happy about is we have a defensive DNA,” said Stevens. “We have an identity about us that is positive that you have to bring every night to have a chance to win, and then hopefully our offense can improve and we can play a little bit better.”
Boston’s offense should have plenty of opportunities to thrive Wednesday night, when it faces a Lakers squad that is allowing the most points per game (107.3) in the NBA.
