Brad Stevens Explains ‘Always Evaluating’ How Celtics Can Be Better

The Boston Celtics were one win away from returning to the NBA Finals last season when they lost a heartbreaking Game 7 at home to the Miami Heat.

Given the success in the regular season, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens could have run it back with the roster and added a couple of accent players.

Stevens didn’t want to risk being idle, hoping the team could match its success for a third straight season. He overhauled the roster by acquiring Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via two blockbuster trades before the season.

“I think we’re always evaluating how we can get better because I think if you’re not trying to get better, you’re probably going to get caught,” Stevens said, per Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett. “And, you know, we weren’t where we wanted to be anyways as far as a Finals or championship team. So getting caught is just somewhat that I just think you always have to be alert to.”

Stevens added: “Being good is really fragile. Being good is really hard. And nothing is guaranteed. You just have to be on the lookout for ways to improve.”

The former Celtics coach said that sometimes improving is just as simple as making “tweaks” to the offense and defense, but other times, it means personnel changes — on and off the court.

“The big moments of the trade deadline and the draft are what everybody focuses on and what gets talked about,” Stevens said. “They’re certainly the time of highest stress … I feel very, very responsible for putting a team together that not only includes the players, but the coaches, trainers, analytics and everyone else that is on one page and represents the Celtics really well.”

Even though the day-to-day business is part of Stevens’ job responsibilities, he understands what matters most at the end of the day is the team’s success.

“We will be judged on how well we play and how many games we win and our competitive character that we exhibit through it,” Stevens said. “So, just putting all of the right people in all of the right spots to do that is, I think, the No. 1 responsibility. Get the right people on the bus, and make sure that we’re all moving in one direction.”

As the owners of a 43-12 record coming out of the All-Star break, the Celtics are headed in the right direction, heading down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs.