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The Boston Celtics boast one of the strongest rosters in all of the NBA, but you don’t win championships on paper.
The Celtics will have to execute if they’re going to reach the NBA Finals, a venue that has narrowly evaded Boston the past two seasons.
Head coach Brad Stevens is well aware of this notion, and he understands his team won’t be able to rest on their laurels at any point in the season, despite featuring top-tier talent.
“What concerns me?” Stevens told the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett. “Well, I think you always have concerns that, you know, for us, we’ve played two straight seasons eight months all the way ’til late May. It’s not like playing into the Finals, like people talk about, but it’s pretty close.
“And the idea that when you have a team back that was so good defensively that we don’t skip steps. I’d say that’s the No. 1 concern I’ve got. I’ve watched teams before have really good years and then kind of go through the motions on that end of the court. And we can’t do that.”
The Celtics undoubtedly understand that things don’t always go as planned, as evidenced by season-ending injuries to Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving in the 2017-18 campaign. The C’s have all the makings to reach the championship stage in the upcoming season, but it will be up to them to fulfill these high expectations.
