Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has complete confidence in his team, even after their unexpected, last-second loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of their second-round series with the reigning NBA champs.
“We have a really competitive group; we have a really intrinsically motivated group,” explained the Celtics coach.
“At the end of the day, in basketball, as long as there’s time on the clock anything can happen and we were on the unfortunate end of the tough loss last night.”
“So, you you lick your wounds; you’re feeling whatever emotions you’re feeling — and then you move on and you try your best. Do what you can to control what you can, to be the best you can. And for some people it’s putting a chip on that shoulder, is the way to go about it. For others, it’s just being able to focus a little bit more on the task at hand.”
“In that moment, everybody’s a little bit different in that, but at the end of the day, I love this group,” offered Stevens. “I love their competitive spirit.”
For Boston’s Theis, better overall play the remedy for Game 3 loss https://t.co/c3VCtIfKg1
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 5, 2020
In the Indiana native’s mind, there is zero doubt the Celtics will leave the floor after Game 4 having played their best basketball.
“They’re going to bring it; they’re going to give everything they have, and if we get beat, we get beat,” said Stevens. “The last night wasn’t the way we wanted it to end, but we’re looking forward to get a chance to compete again, because we like to compete.”
Compete they shall, with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 pm Eastern Time; a win here would almost certainly sew up the series for the Celtics, with only a handful of teams ever coming back from a 3-1 postseason deficit.
We’ll try not to think about what might happen next should the Raptors tie it up instead.
