Brad Stevens On Celtics' Early-Game Struggles Vs. Hawks
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics got off to another bad start against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2, and now trail 2-0 as the series shifts back to Boston on Friday night.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said he would revisit the game film of Boston's seven-point first quarter -- their worst quarter in franchise postseason history -- following the loss, but may have been better off just burning those tapes.
Stevens joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand on Wednesday, and said while the Celtics played at their rhythm but couldn't hit shots to start Game 1, they where completely disjointed to start Tuesday night's game.
"There was a difference between the two games and the slow starts. The first one, it felt like we were at the right pace and doing the right things, we just weren't able to convert as much as we needed to be where we needed to be. Then we found our rhythm and found our way and gave ourselves a chance to win," he said. "Last night, we weren't at their pace. They set a tone and we were struggling to keep up."
Stevens said he hasn't considered any changes to Boston's lineup just yet, but said there is plenty to learn from his team's early-game miscues.
"You certainly don't dwell on every little thing that didn't go your way, but you better learn from what happened and learn from the things you can take away and change. That's all of our focus: to play better," he said. "We've responded to moments like this throughout the year and we're going to have to do that again."
While the team can talk about getting better from the opening tip all they want, Stevens said they need to execute come Friday night.
"I don't think it's about talking about it. It's about when that ball is tipped, being alert and ready to roll. They jumped on us and we weren't on their pace for a while. We dug ourselves enough of a hole so every shot you shoot has more pressure on it," he said. "Again, our guys have responded in the past and that's why our focus is on what we can do better Friday night."
While the C's couldn't seem to hit a jumper on Saturday, they couldn't make a layup on Tuesday. And when they did get into the paint, the Hawks where there to send back 15 of their shot attempts.
"We're trying to get the ball in the paint and play out. I didn't think we did a great job playing out when we got the ball in the paint in the first half. These guys are really flying around and are quick to the ball," he explained. "They contest at the rim and make it difficult. We have to get our rim attacks, dunks in the second or third paint attack. When they're loaded up it's hard to get to."
Celtics play-by-play man Mike Gorman said earlier Wednesday on Toucher & Rich that Avery Bradley told him he may be able to return if the Celtics can extend this series. Stevens all but extinguished those hopes with Zolak & Bertrand.
"He has gotten better with treatment around the clock, but that would be extremely unlikely. He strained [his hamstring] pretty good, and with hamstrings you can feel better walking down the hallway, but it's another thing to go into a full-speed sprint, play 32 minutes and get into a stance, all those other things. He's still a ways away. That's a tough injury to come back from, no question about it," said Stevens. "It's very unlikely."
