Brad Stevens Issues Blunt Reality Check After Celtics’ Horrid Preseason

It’s been hard to watch the Boston Celtics these last few days and not ask yourself what in the world was happening.

Just a few months ago the Celtics were putting up a valiant fight in the Eastern Conference Final against the Miami Heat. But fast forward to this week, and in two listless preseason losses they looked, well, lost.

The shooting was abysmal, defense was lackluster. And it wasn’t just backups playing all the time, it was Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the like that were underwhelming.

Following the more embarrassing loss of the two, a 113-89 setback to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens gave an honest assessment of where his team is at.

“We’re not even close to that group that was in the bubble,” Stevens said after the game, over Zoom.

Of course, he’s right.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to that point. We have to play a lot better than we have. Ultimately, we have to make sure we’re building the right habits.”

This Celtics group hasn’t done nearly enough to prove they’re the type of team that gets to mail it in during the preseason. So assuming that’s not the issue here — which would be a far bigger problem — they have just a few days to get back on track before opening their season Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.