Before the Celtics and Hornets squared off Tuesday night at TD Garden, Brad Stevens held his first news conference in two months.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since his post-trade deadline presser on Feb. 6, Boston’s president of basketball operations fielded questions about his team’s newly healthy superstar, its still-adjusting midseason addition, the Celtics’ ceiling in the upcoming NBA postseason and why his name always seems to appear in coaching rumors whenever a big-time college job opens up.
Still no ceiling
Stevens said before the start of training camp, back when most expected the Celtics to regress with Jayson Tatum sidelined and their roster overhauled, that he wouldn’t put a ceiling on what the team could accomplish. That hasn’t changed.
“I feel the exact same as I did at the beginning,” said Stevens, whose team can clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a win Thursday in New York. “… I don’t think in terms of the big picture as far as this individual team. I just know that we can play. I’ve seen us rise and meet challenges, and I know that this team’s looking forward to the next one. As you get into this time of year and get into the playoffs, everything’s hard, the other teams are really good, and we’ll see where it all stacks out. But I’m going to continue to not put a ceiling on us.”
Several Celtics players (Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, rookie Hugo Gonzalez) have yet to play meaningful postseason minutes in their NBA careers. Stevens said he trusts head coach Joe Mazzulla and his staff to properly prepare them.
“The margin is small,” Stevens said. “As the playoffs start, as you get into this time of year, the distractions rise, the burdens rise, the praise rises. All that stuff, right? And the reality is you just have to stay in the moment and be as good as you can today.”
Tatum’s rehab ‘incredible’
This was Stevens’ first time addressing the media since Tatum’s comeback from Achilles surgery. He saluted the Celtics star for his diligence throughout his nearly 10-month rehab process and shouted out Tatum’s surgeon, Dr. Martin O’Malley; his trainer, Nick Sang; and Celtics executive director of performance Phil Coles.
Stevens said it “became clear probably around the trade deadline … that (Tatum) was in a pretty good spot physically.” Tatum then ramped up his activity, which included practicing with Boston’s G League team and running through full-speed scrimmages with Celtics teammates, before making his season debut on March 6.
“You could see that, not only was he going to come along pretty quickly, but you could also see that he was getting more eager to play,” Stevens said. “It was a really well-thought-out process by Dr. O’Malley and Nick Sang and Phil Coles, and followed to strictly by Jayson. Everybody involved with that gets a lot of credit because of the amount of work that everybody put into it. Nobody more than Jayson. Close, close second by Nick.
“It was pretty incredible to watch up close. I got a front-row seat to the whole thing. I wasn’t sitting on the edge of my seat like others were the first time they saw him run up and down the court, playing five-on-five.”
Since returning, Tatum has averaged 25.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. The Celtics have won 12 of his first 14 appearances.
Week off big for Vucevic
After this Sunday’s regular-season finale against Orlando, the Celtics will have five or six days off before beginning their first-round playoff series. Stevens believes that gap will be important for veteran center Nikola Vucevic, the trade-deadline pickup who missed a month with a fractured finger before returning on Sunday.
“I think it’s going to be a work in progress anytime you get a guy that comes in a trade,” Stevens said. “But Vuc is a pro, and I think that he immediately recognized that he’s got to do his best to find where he can help fit and where he can help impact the team. We haven’t played a ton of teams that have switched everything, like in the first game against Miami, where he really got some post-up opportunities and that type of stuff.
“But I do think that he can bring an element to this group that will be really valuable down the line, and I think that it’s good that he gets at least a week here to work on it with the guys. … Having that week in between is going to be really good. And even though we won’t have games to necessarily play with Vuc — we only have a couple left — just those practices are probably more valuable than even these next four games.”
Vucevic has been second on Boston’s depth chart behind Queta when healthy. Garza, who played well in Vucevic’s absence and is shooting a team-best 44.4% from 3-point range, has been the third-choice big man.
College coaching chatter
Last year, it was Indiana. This year, North Carolina.
Even though Stevens hasn’t coached at the college level since 2013 — or any level since 2021 — he’s regularly mentioned as a dream target for big-name programs. The 49-year-old reiterated that he has no desire to leave his current role.
“It’s always flattering,” Stevens said. “… It’s always flattering when you’re hearing that, but the whole idea of the coaching carousel being news is a little bit tiresome. But I get why, in this day and age, why people want to talk about it. As you know from being around me, I’m not quick to make decisions where I’m all over the place. And I like being here. They’ve been great to me, and I haven’t been seeking anything else.
“I don’t have an agent, so I guess my circle’s pretty small, although (my wife) Tracy still kind of helps me out. But I know that she’s pretty reliable and confidential. … I’m not motivated to do anything but what I’m doing is the bottom line, and I’m really happy with the people we’re around and everything else. And that’s been the best part about being here. And really, as you get to this age and stage, I think that’s the motivator for me. I don’t really have any other motivation than being around people that I want to be around.”