Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens isn’t trying to win his team’s series against the Toronto Raptors in their Game 6 meeting tonight, and if that sounds confusing, it’s actually a lot simpler than it sounds.
Responding to a question on how to fight the mentality of looking past each game to the series beyond once you are in an advantageous situation in terms of wins and losses in a playoff series, the Celtics coach simply dismissed the concept outright.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to play well on Wednesday night, and play to the best that we can,” explained Stevens.
“We’re not thinking about it in terms of how many games we have to win the series; we’re trying to play good basketball. And I think that’s the only way you can go about it, because it’s so easy to get lost in narratives and think about the future, the past, and all that matters. It matters how we play tonight. When Belichick talked to our team a few weeks ago, history and experience are meaningless. It’s how you play in this minute.”
“I think that’s right,” he added.
Jaylen Brown: Celtics changed little from Game 4, ‘locked in’ for win https://t.co/gdNLKbPDYr
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 8, 2020
If Boston is going to avoid playing a risky Game 7, that’s exactly what they’ll need to do — and it is a harder task than it seems when the memory of last-second defeat still lingers in the minds of many.
For the sake of the Celtics, let’s hope the lingering images of OG Anunoby’s miracle shot have been expunged by Monday’s successes.
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