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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS CAVALIERS

May 16, 2017

Avery Bradley

Boston, Massachusetts: Practice Day

AVERY BRADLEY: I mean, everyone is going to have their own opinions on how the series is going to go, but for us, we're just focused on one game at a time, and tomorrow is going to be a big game for us. If we come out and execute our game plan, we have a chance to win.

Q. Was it worth it getting that No. 1 seed and having them come to your house for the opener?
AVERY BRADLEY: It was.

Q. The fact that you guys are in a rhythm and they've had a lot of time off, how do you think that's going to play out?
AVERY BRADLEY: I don't know, it's going to be interesting. It can either be an advantage to them or a disadvantage. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. One thing I do know is that they're going to be prepared no matter what. They have a great group of guys and they have a good coach.

Q. What does it mean for you to be in this situation, four wins away from competing for a title?
AVERY BRADLEY: It means a lot to me. This is what we play this game for, to make it this far into the season. We continue to play the basketball we've been playing, I feel like we'll give ourselves a chance.

Q. Are you tired at all from playing every single night it seems?
AVERY BRADLEY: No, if we played or not, I'd be ready.

Q. Brad [Stevens] says he thinks they're playing better this year as opposed to last year. What have you seen so far?
AVERY BRADLEY: They are. I think they understand each other as a team now. They have a great group of guys that understand all their roles, and I think LeBron James is doing a great job of getting everybody involved, not only him but Kyrie, as well. Those guys are a team. I feel like the best teams are teams that are machines. They play off each other. They all accept roles, and it makes basketball fun, and you can tell that's how they play.

Q. Does two years ago even matter how you guys did against them in the Playoffs?
AVERY BRADLEY: I don't think it does. I mean, it's behind us. I think for any team, not just only us in our situation with them, but for any team, the next year it's a new team, new situation, so I don't think it matters. I mean, we're starting at home this time, so it's different.

Q. Did this team think in preseason you'd get to this point, or did that belief develop throughout the course of the season?
AVERY BRADLEY: I think we believed it. We believed if we worked hard and came in every single day with a positive attitude and were open to learning throughout this season that we would give ourselves a chance, and I think it became more -- we started believing more once it got to the end of the season, and we saw that we were [the] No. 1 seed. We were like, man, we could really do this if we continue to play the Celtic basketball that we're playing, and now we're here, and now it's our chance to show the world that we're supposed to be here.

Q. Do you feel disrespected going into this series?
AVERY BRADLEY: No, people have been saying stuff about us since the first Playoffs. We were down 0-2, and you heard everyone talking stuff about us, but I mean, it's part of the game. We understand that we only can worry about us and what we can control, and that's our effort, and that's all we care about. We don't care about what anyone else thinks.

Q. You mentioned that you get to start at home this time around. How big of a help was the crowd last night, and how important is it that you get to start there on Wednesday?
AVERY BRADLEY: They were amazing. Our fans are the best in the NBA. We appreciate them, and that's the loudest I've heard the Garden in a long time. It was a special feeling, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

Q. How do you guys contain LeBron James?
AVERY BRADLEY: It's going to be hard, but I think it's going to take a team effort. He's a good player. We just have to do a great job of understanding the scouting report, what we need to do against him, and try to make everything hard for him.

Q. Are there different levels of experience when it comes to stages in the Playoffs? Like they've been on this stage before --
AVERY BRADLEY: I think there is. Yeah, I think it is. Most importantly, I think it is winning a game on your opponent's home court. I think that's a great start because going home it really gives you that -- at this time of the year, it really helps you as far as like being -- feeling more like you have a chance to advance to the next round. It definitely helps teams, and we understand that. We feel like if we're able to take care of these games at home and get at least still one there, it gives us a chance to advance to the next round, and I know that's their mindset, especially being part of a team with Tyronn Lue. I know that that's how he used to think.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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