Stevens: Raptors ‘heck of a defensive team’ who play ‘tough, physical’

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is headed into a Game 6 showdown with the Toronto Raptors holding a healthy respect for Boston’s opponent.

It’s safe to say it’s unlikely Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens thinks the Toronto Raptors won’t be going home without a fight based on his comments to the press on Tuesday afternoon.

Stevens made a point of talking up his opponent in the presser, highlighting the fact that despite their offensive woes , the defending champs still possess a top-five defense in the league.

“Give Toronto a lot of credit,” suggested Stevens. They do so much unique stuff; they force you to have … and add a bunch of options and make sure that you’re on top of everything and try to have an answer for everything.”

“It’s easier said than done to do that and play at a fast pace,” he added, “and be able to get the shots that ultimately we’re trying to get.”

“They’re a heck of a defensive team and we’re just trying to work as hard as we can to generate a good look every time down. There are certain things we’re emphasizing. But again, that’s easier said than done, because those guys are into you; they’re tough, physical, all that stuff.”

After multiple deep playoff runs in the NBA and back-to-back NCAA title game appearances, it seems like the Indiana native has hit on a formula for his own approach to postseason play that’s consistently born fruit, particularly when considering the context of each individual season.

But Stevens has grown an appreciation for the variety of ways his own and opposing players and coaching staffs have operated as well.

“You have to have great resolve,” he explained.

“You have to have great mental toughness to play in this league, to stand in these arenas and to compete against this level of player, every night, and in a series that’s heightened even more so.”

“I think that it’s one of the things that I appreciate so much about this level of of sports. Everybody can talk about it, but until you’re in it, you’re in the middle of it so you feel it, until you see the effort and the commitment level, and the drive and the competitiveness of the players on all sides, [it] makes you makes you realize just how special it is.”

However Game 6 (and, potentially, Game 7) unfold, this is a battle between two special teams, neither of whom were supposed to be where they are at the start of the season according to popular wisdom.

Boston had a disaster of a season to dig out of and to retool on the fly while doing so, and the Raptors had just lost their superstar (and a key starter) in free agency after winning a title.

And in a season interrupted by a global pandemic for roughly a third of a calendar year, it’s probably worth mentioning that any NBA basketball happening safely ought to deepen our appreciation of this level sport as well.

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