Brad Stevens Happy To Add Horford's Winner Mentality To Celtics
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's a busy time in Boston sports. The Red Sox are eyeing the postseason, the Patriots off to a hot start and the Bruins open their preseason next week. The Boston Celtics are about to join the mix.
The Celtics will start their 2016-17 season with media day on Monday and hit the floor for their first practice the following day. Head coach Brad Stevens, entering his fourth year on the Boston bench, is getting ready to build on last year's 48-win season, and admits there is a new buzz around his team with the offseason addition of Al Horford.
"I'm excited for him for a number of reasons. He's a good player, a very efficient offensive player; scoring and passing, he doesn't turn the ball over. Defensively he can play a couple of different positions and has a great feel for team concepts. All of that," Stevens told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand on Tuesday.
"The thing that is really exciting is he's a guy who has been a winner his whole [career]. He's a nine-year player in the NBA and has been in the playoffs all nine years. He came from a Florida team that won two National Championships," said Stevens. "He has an opportunity to lead by example here."
Stevens is always trying to become a better coach, and was a busy man this offseason in an effort to do just that. He paid a visit to Urban Meyer and attended an Ohio State football practice (arranged by his first boss, Thad Matta, now the head coach of the Buckeyes basketball team) and also attended a Patriots training camp session, giving him a new perspective on coaching.
Stevens will have another chance to pick Bill Belichick's brain on Friday at the third annual Hall of Fame Huddle, an annual charity event by the New England head coach's foundation.
"They probably needed someone who knew nothing about football to come in," Stevens joked. "I'll be up there taking notes... When I left their OTA session, I felt inadequate as a coach.
"It's a fun thing for me to watch," he said of the football practices. "They have all those moving parts and the best have them all moving in a direction at a great pace."
Stevens also touched on Kelly Olynyk's injury status, and the coaching fraternity in Boston sports:
