Stevens: Bitter Taste After Back-To-Back Losses, But Pleased With Celtics' Effort
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics have lost three of their last four, but head coach Brad Stevens is still happy with the team's effort on a nightly basis.
Boston has dropped two straight games for the third time this season, with losses to the Cavaliers and Pistons on back-to-back nights. Stevens joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand on Thursday to discuss the state of the C's, and said their offensive efforts were not good enough against either team.
"We lost a close one last night and didn't play as well Tuesday offensively as we needed to in order to compete with Cleveland. There's a little bit of a bitter taste right now, but I think our guys have done a lot of good things," said Stevens. "I was less disappointed on film than I was in person [with last night's loss to Detroit]. I felt we did a lot of good things, and Pistons deserve credit. They made some difficult shots I thought we did a good job defending at critical times. So hats off to them.
"There are things we can control that we need to do better, but for the most part I still think this team is doing a lot of good things," he said.
Boston sits at 14-12 on the season, 10th in the Eastern Conference and half-a-game out of a playoff spot. Stevens is always taking stock of where his team stands, but says we'll have to wait a few more weeks before he can get a solid assessment of the 2015-16 Celtics.
"I circle the New Year as a time when you can truly assess your team. If we can get Marcus [Smart] back that will help us better assess it. This stretch, which we knew would be really challenging, has been, but I think our guys have handled it pretty well. But it's not over," he stressed.
"This is going to be a lot of fun for people to follow unless you're in the middle of it – this race in the East," Stevens added. "There are a lot of equal teams and really improved teams. We're going to have to be better than last year to be in that position because the East is better."
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told Toucher & Rich on Thursday morning that the team is eyeing a New Year return for Smart, who has been sidelined since November 20 with a knee injury. Stevens said they're really missing Smart's versatility on the floor.
"We need him, when you look at our team and from a long-term standpoint. Our guys have done a pretty darn good job in his absence, since he's missed over half our season. We've had to figure out a way, because what he does beyond what you may see in the stat sheet is he adds versatility," he said. "He can guard ones, twos and some threes. Marcus is a big, strong guy and can switch on to fours. You have a guy who can pretty much guard four positions every night and gives you a chance to play different lineups together."
The Celtics coach also touched on Avery Bradley's comments about Boston's effort level against the Cavaliers, and the recent play of Tyler Zeller: