BOSTON — A 16-game win streak had many proclaiming the Boston Celtics as NBA title contenders despite losing star forward Gordon Hayward five minutes into the 2017-18 season.
Don’t include head coach Brad Stevens among them, though.
The Celtics head coach has taken a cautious approach to his team’s early-season success, and he doubled down before Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I don’t know if we’re a contender,” Stevens told reporters at TD Garden. “We’re 22 games in. We’ve won a bunch in a streak where we came back from 16 down. We’ll see how good we are.”
After having their winning streak snapped by the Miami Heat on Nov. 22, the Celtics bounced back to win their next two games before falling to the Detroit Pistons at home on Monday.
Boston still boasts the NBA’s best defense, which has caused some experts to tab them as the team with the best chance to take down LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
Time will tell, but after 22 games the Celtics certainly look the part, even if Stevens isn’t sure.
