NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 27, 2020

Brad Stevens

Boston Celtics

Game 6: Postgame

Miami Heat 125, Boston Celtics 113

Q. You guys played them tough all series long, but it seems like in crunch time they had the edge there. What did you attribute that to? Did you just tip the cap there or what did you see?

BRAD STEVENS: I thought today after we had the lead, Adebayo, and credit all of them, but Adebayo deciding he's just going to drive the ball put us in a real bind with the shooters around him. And their physicality is something that I'm not sure that we probably talked about it enough. They're strong, they're physical, they're tough and, him in particular, dominated that fourth quarter. Even the plays where he didn't score, his presence was so impactful and it put us in a real bind with the ability to guard him. Best thing we did, the best stretch of defense we had all night, maybe the only good stretch of defense, was when we were switching with Grant. But that got taken and exposed a little bit as well there toward the end of it.

Miami deserves a lot of credit. They're super physical, super tough, very, very savvy. I think they're the best team in the East and deserve to be representing the East in the way that they have played.

Q. I know obviously this series is just over, but as you think back on it, what is your biggest regret in terms of what you guys could have done differently to have this end in a different way?

BRAD STEVENS: I think I would just say my regrets would be the outcomes, right? But my regret is not what we put in. My regret is not how we prepared or worked or how hard our guys worked or how committed they were to playing and staying together. You look back at those first couple of games and it put us in a tough spot. I just think that ultimately we had our chances and we didn't take advantage of it enough. But the other team is out there, too, and they deserve credit for taking advantage in every circumstance.

Again, I thought their physical toughness, their physicality in general, their strength and those savvy veterans, they made great plays.

Q. I know you tell your guys go out there and be tough, but how do you become tougher?

BRAD STEVENS: I thought we did a lot of tough things, too. I thought our guys tried to play physical. I thought our guys tried to do that, but I think that ultimately it's more of a credit to them. It's nothing against our guys at all. They gave it everything they had.

Again, I think Miami has been great. We just, for whatever reason, it was really a myriad of reasons if you look at the four or five close games, we just couldn't solve them late.

Q. You said solving them late. I think in all six games you add up the points it's a one-point difference. You guys probably shot better than them. When it comes down to what you're talking about finishing --

BRAD STEVENS: Yeah, I just talked about all that. I hit on all of it. I think they're really physical, really tough, really savvy and they made great plays. Credit Miami for that.

Q. And that's the difference, Brad?

BRAD STEVENS: I think they're terrific and I think we didn't play as well in those spots. I think that they just deserve a lot of credit because super team, super coach. They're really good. They're going to be a handful.

Q. Obviously, this is just such an unusual experience for the past few months. What are some ways that you think maybe this can help your team in the long term from having gone through the experience?

BRAD STEVENS: I just think the experience of playing, the experience of adding things to the group. We're going to lean on a couple of those guys for a long, long time that were making big plays, a lot of those guys. I think that ultimately that's the benefit. I don't know, I guess I'm not really ready to look back and talk about the what's been gained from this experience right now. I'll talk to you in a month about it.

Q. What was your message to the team in the locker room afterwards?

BRAD STEVENS: My message, I think, was simple. I really appreciated the way that they played basketball all year. I really appreciated the way that they competed. I really appreciated the way they blocked out stuff that didn't matter. I really appreciated the way that they inspired with their voice when they were here and before. I appreciated the way that they empowered all the different NBA employees that weren't here, including Celtics employees and everybody else that benefited from them putting everything they had into this. And then I appreciated the way that they played and found joy and stayed together. We had one minor dust-up. That's pretty good for a calendar year with a group. It's pretty amazing when you think about it.