My Condolence: Boston Celtics (Larry Bird) and his daughter Mariah die in car crash…..
The past week has been a whirlwind for Brad Stevens since the Celtics reached the goal he’s been chasing since he arrived in Boston in 2013.
He’s gone from coach to president of basketball operations during that time, experiencing all the failures and near misses it took to finally earn the franchise’s 18th championship.
It’s also why he’s not allowing himself to get caught up in the expectations that already hover around the Celtics to do it again next season.
“The adulation doesn’t mean much in all sincerity. And the scrutiny doesn’t mean much either,” Stevens said Tuesday.
“If you hang a banner everybody is going to talk about how great you are. And if you don’t, they’re going to talk about how much you stink.
If you tie your approach to that, then you’re just going to ride a roller coaster that’s not worth the journey.
So, I think the most important thing is you appreciate the people you’re with, you try your best to have the best season you can. And you just keep going.”
The good news for Stevens is that the Celtics are positioned well to be very much in the mix to defend their title next season.
Their top six players — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford — are under contract for next season.
After having secured long-term extensions with Brown, Holiday and Porzingis, the Celtics are expected to do the same with Tatum and White this summer.
