That's What He Said - Celtics @ Lakers

That's What He Said

Brad Stevens
RE: Isaiah Thomas' ejection and the fourth quarter:

I mean, obviously, you need scorers on the floor late in the game. But, that was the call that was made. We have to do a better job handling our emotions. We have to do a better job making sure we don’t let them get in the rhythm they [Lakers] got in. Once they started having to make tough shots, they made them. One thing that we don’t want to take away from at all is the fact that those guys [Lakers] went on a flurry of made shots from about the 10 minute mark in the fourth quarter to about the three or four minute mark that was really impressive. They made tough shots, so credit them for that.


RE: Jeremy Lin and overtime:

I thought Jeremy Lin killed us the whole night. He was really effective in a lot of ways, not only scoring the ball, but also getting into the paint and making plays for others. Then, our offense stalled a bit. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t getting back to the point of tying, but the next step in getting over that hump. We certainly had some momentum in that, but maybe we used too much, and we weren’t as good in the overtime as we were at the end of the game [regulation]. We were really lucky to be in overtime.


RE: Isaiah Thomas' performance:

He has to be there at the end. I think that that’s number one. I think he does a lot of good things for our team. He is a good player, and he knows that. He said something to the team in the locker room [regarding the ejection]; he seems like an accountable guy. He’s a good player, but we’re gonna need him. We are going to need everyone on board, especially when we are shorthanded.
RE: How Boston can improve defensively:

I thought that at times our size hurt us, especially on the glass and on different plays on different occasions. But, they [Lakers] matched up small at the end, so it wasn’t like we were playing against a lineup that was that much different than ours. We are going to have to figure that out. I think the one thing that stands out to me is that we have to guard the drive a lot better than we have. It’s been [an issue] all year, and we have to balance pressure with the ability to contain.


Avery Bradley
RE: How Isaiah Thomas' ejection affected the game:

He was helping us out a lot as far as getting on the court, organizing the offensive end. Until he got ejected, I feel like we weren’t executing as well. We were fortunate enough and blessed enough to be able to make a big shot to get us in overtime, we just fell short.


RE: Overtime:

It happens with games like this. Unfortunately we weren’t on the other end and getting a win, but I still feel like we did a good job today as far as fighting back. We’re still a team that’s learning. I know people have been hearing that all year, but we are improving every single game. I feel like we definitely made strides at the end of today. We definitely were executing our plays and that’s why we have a chance.


RE: If Boston has trouble keeping momentum:

No, not on this team because we have people that grind it out and play hard. That’s what we do, we just fell short. We had point-blank shots at the basket and we’re missing them in overtime. It was just unfortunate.
Evan Turner


RE: Los Angeles' offense:

They hit some shots. When they made some shots early the basket was wide open and they played with a lot of energy. They just made some great plays and things clicked. They had a great rhythm going.


RE: The Celtics' performance in overtime:

We had a couple good shots but we didn’t make any, obviously. Once again, they made the most out of each opportunity, which makes it tough. I think that a couple of in-and-outs and a couple rebounds, things like that offensively just didn’t fall. It made it rough to come back.


RE: Jeremy Lin's big game:

He played well, he played great. He got to the free throw line and from there, guys made shots. He played well.


RE: Isaiah Thomas' ejection:

It hurt, but we still came back. I think if he would’ve played the whole game, the game probably would’ve been over and we probably would’ve been able to win. It’s tough, but at the same time it really didn’t affect the outcome because we were able to come back and make it into overtime.


Marcus Smart
RE: If it's difficult to keep momentum rolling heading into overtime:

Sometimes it is, but we played really well in that comeback stretch with the amount of time we had. We just couldn’t finish it off in overtime.


RE: What Isaiah Thomas said to the team after the game:

He came in and apologized to us. He understands that he made a mistake, but you can’t fault him for that. He was passionate. It was a mistake that anyone else could make. You can live with that type of mistake because he was out there giving it his all and he just had a lot of passion for the game.


Byron Scott
RE: The game:

We just hung in there. It probably shouldn’t have gone to overtime, but I’ve got to give my guys a lot of credit for being resilient enough to bounce back. Even when we walked off the floor after the fourth, we told them to keep their heads up, because there’s five more minutes to play. Boston started to pressure us more at the end, I think that flustered us a little bit, but we got our composure back and were able to pull it out.


RE: If he thought about fouling Avery Bradley before his OT-forcing shot:

There was some consideration. That’s twice that I’ve been thinking about it and they’ve hit a three to send it into overtime, so I don’t know if I’ll think about it next time, I might just do it. That’s something that I’ve just never done, but this year for some reason it seems like it’s evening out. In my coaching career I’ve never been one to intentionally foul guys, but this year has been kind of crazy with guys hitting threes to force overtime.


RE: His team's effort:

I thought we played hard and competed all night long and that’s what I’m looking for. We had some guys come in tonight and step up, especially our guys off the bench. Jeremy [Lin] had a great game, Wesley [Johnson] had a great game, so we had a lot of guys contribute tonight.


RE: Nick Young's hot hand:

I don’t know what sparked it, but obviously we’re glad he made a few shots. I thought defensively against Evan Turner he did a heck of a job. We talked about in the last couple of minutes, playing everybody straight up so we don’t give up three-point shots, so he took the challenge and did a good job. I’m a firm believer that if you have that mindset going into a game that you’re going to defend, everything else is going to take care of itself.


RE: Ronnie Price:

I think Ronnie turned the game around. With his aggressiveness on the defensive end, he caused some turnovers and the way he was playing Isaiah, I thought he turned the game around.


RE: If he enjoys this win more than others:

I enjoy this a lot more, I’m a happy man tonight. I think the energy was there, even with our fans who know the history of our rivalry with them, they were much more into it tonight. When the Celtics got introduced, the boos were louder than I’d heard in a while. I think our fans understand the history between these two organizations. Like I said, I’m going to enjoy this one a little bit more tonight.


Nick Young
RE: If the Celtics-Lakers rivalry motivated the team:

I think we just chose to have fun. I think that helped. The Lakers and Celtics are one of the biggest rivalries in NBA history.


RE: Los Angeles' difficulty closing out games:

It’s tough. Big shots after big shots. It’s just been happening all year. Milwaukee happened with [O.J.] Mayo. That’s the one we lost. We just have to learn how to close out games better.


Wesley Johnson
RE: Why it's tough for LA to close out fourth quarters:

That’s a million dollar question. We have to be poised to win at the end of a game. We have to try to get rebounds and second chance points and get fouled towards the end. It’s just one of those things where you have to stay poised.


RE: Snapping the team's losing streak:

It feels great. The mood has definitely changed. Everybody is smiling. It feels good but now we have to build on this.
RE: He and Jeremy Lin both scoring season highs:

We were just talking spacing and getting to open spots and knocking down shots. We were being aggressive. We were just clicking tonight.


RE: If this game will spark the Lakers going forward:

Definitely. We want to build on this going into the next game. We just have to watch film, treat it as if we didn’t win, and be hungry going into the next game.


Carlos Boozer
RE: The close win:

We’ve been working hard most games, and we’re into the very end. Somehow we either lose a game, or turn the ball over, but tonight, I think we did a great job, especially in overtime.


RE: Los Angeles' performance:

I think we just got a little more physical and at the end of the day, all that matter is that we win. We kept fighting and we kept playing hard. We used each other. Wesley [Johnson] had one of his best games. Jeremy [Lin] had a great game. Nick [Young] had a great game. Everybody played so well. I think it helps that everyone steps up.


RE: Jeremy Lin's game:

That was one of his best games. He did a great job being a leader. He got shots up, he hit shots, and he had everyone involved. He was great on defense. It might have been one of his best games this year.



bob



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Everyone knows that I have a policy of never complaining about referees.  I feel the calls even out over time; a team should never let the game get close enough so one or two bad calls can make the difference; yada yada.

But, when I heard that the second technical was due to his "throwing the ball" to the referee, I became interested enough to look at the replay.  The ball was not thrown.  It was rolled off his hand and landed, in benign fashion, on the floor, and bounced gently toward the referee.  That call will be reversed, I'm sure of it; and I bet the referee will be reprimanded for having too quick a whistle.

I don't quite understand Brad's comments.  Am I reading them wrong?  He comments, "Until he (Thomas) got ejected, I feel like we weren’t executing as well."  

Is he saying that he felt the team was executing more poorly with Thomas than it did without him?"

I assume I'm interpreting it incorrectly, and maybe someone can straighten me out.

Sam

Sam,

It was Bradley who made that comment, not (Brad) Stevens.

In any event, I don't interpret the comment to mean that Thomas was the reason for them executing poorly. What I get from it is that they improved their execution after the ejection because they got fired up by the ejection, not because Thomas was a boat anchor who had been holding them down.