Stevens Pleased With Celtics Season Opening Win, But 'There's A Lot To Work On'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brad Stevens and his Boston Celtics got their 2014-15 campaign off on a winning note Wednesday night, blowing out the Brooklyn Nets 121-105 at the TD Garden.
The Celtics were aggressive on both ends of the floor and got a full team effort, with eight players scoring 10 points or more. Stevens joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh & Zolak on Friday for his weekly call into the show, and said he was very pleased to see everything they set in place during the preseason carry over into the games that count.
"We determined as we got ready for this season as a staff that our best chance for success is to utilize our depth, play a lot of guys a lot of minutes, and be aggressive on both ends of the floor. It was a good start in that regard," said Stevens. "I was optimistic heading into the game with how we had played in the preseason, but you're never sure how you're going to play when the regular season begins. Through Game 1 there was a lot of good things, but there's a lot to work on. The big part of this is we have 81 more, and this trip coming up is going to be a bear."
The Celtics are in Houston on Saturday night and Dallas on Monday, with Stevens calling the matchups against two Western Conference powerhouses "a litmus test as to where we stand."
As it is for any team in the NBA, spacing the floor will be key for the Celtics this season. They knocked down eight of their 22 three point attempts against Brooklyn, and when the Nets tried to take the deep shot away, Stevens was pleased with his team's ability to change it up.
"The biggest thing for us is, you can space the floor as much as you want but if you can't shoot it's hard to demand attention. So we decided that all of our guys, we want them to take open shots. They're all very capable and really focused on doing their job, and hopefully we can continue to play that way," said Stevens. "It's going to continue to get harder as people become more used to how we're trying to play and guard us differently. But I thought we reacted well; Brooklyn tried to take away the three point line and we reacted well by getting to the rim more. As a result I think we shot a less percentage of threes in that game than we did in our previous eight preseason games."
With the Celtics out of town, Stevens won't get to go trick or treating with his two young children in Boston. But he did get to see them in costume earlier this week, and will be checking in Friday evening.
"We dressed up for school so that was good. Dad was there when we went to school and I got a chance to see them," he said. "I will say this, thank goodness for face time. I'm going to make sure I see those big smiles when they're running all over the place tonight."
As for his favorite candy, Stevens went with Three Musketeers.
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