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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS vs CELTICS

May 17, 2018

Brad Stevens

Cleveland, Ohio: Practice Day

Q. What do you tell them tafter they've survived the Cavs' best punch?
BRAD STEVENS: Well, I don't know if that was their best. We've all seen them play at an elite level for a long time. We got obviously a great punch from LeBron [James] in the first quarter, and then [Kyle] Korver in the first half was great. Obviously, [Kevin] Love has been good in both games. But at the end of the day, they've got a lot of guys that have been there, done that, and we're expecting that every game we're going to have to play better to have a chance to win.

Q. (Indiscernible).
BRAD STEVENS: I think you should learn more about the team you're playing against as you move forward. But still, at the end of the day, every game is its own entity. Like at 8:30 on Saturday, it's a brand new ballgame. Like what happened in previous games, what happens in the future is all out the window; it's just about what happens in that 48-minute segment. Our guys know that. We're going to have to play really hard. We're going to have to play really connected. Obviously, with all they've accomplished over the last two years, they've been tremendous on the road and at home, but especially at home. It'll be a heck of a challenge.

Q. Talk about the challenge the Celtics present in that you have such a balanced scoring attack.
BRAD STEVENS: I think we have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. I think we're doing a great job of (indiscernible) with what they do best. It's an interesting deal because you never know who's going to have the ball at the end. You never know who's going to have the ball in certain moments because we've got a bunch of guys that we all trust in that moment. They've earned that with their play all the way through the year, and certainly since we've basically had this group together post the Kyrie [Irving] injury.

Q. How frustrating do you think that is for your opponents that they don't know who's going to take the shot?
BRAD STEVENS: Well, I mean, just like Cleveland, everybody knows LeBron will have the ball in that moment, but he's great at spraying it. You never know who's going to have that ultimate opportunity. I think every team you worry about everybody on the court equally, and I don't know that we're any different in that regard.

Q. In terms of matchups, at home "the others" usually play better. How do you address --
BRAD STEVENS: Well, we're going to have to be great about adjusting as our lineups come in, making sure we're matched up appropriately. Then we have to continue to guard the three-point line. We did a decent job, except for that Korver flurry, of really guarding, especially in those catch-and-shoot areas. That's hard because you spend so much focus and time on LeBron -- everybody is staring and helping, they flare you on the backside and it's Korver and Love, and you've got to figure out how to get to both of them. It's tough. With [J.R.] Smith over there, we've all seen what he did in all the different games against us. He hasn't had the games that he has had in the past in the first two. So you know he's going to come out aggressive, and he's a really good player. We're going to have to be great on all those guys.

Q. I know these guys are professionals, but how do you shut out the crowd? How much does the crowd factor on the road?
BRAD STEVENS: I think you prepare for that your whole life. All these guys played in big atmospheres before they came here. We played well on the road all year. I think the Milwaukee Game 3 was quite an eye opener for us from the standpoint of a playoff road game in intensity and atmosphere. That was a great learning experience. We feel like we've packed a lot of experiences here into the past month.

Q. How does winning Game 3 in Cleveland last year help this team? You have a lot of guys back --
BRAD STEVENS: The game is its own entity. Again, all of these experiences add up to knowing that you'd better play well when it's all on the line and when that clock starts. I think that whether it's winning Game 3 in Philly or whether it's giving ourselves a much better outing in Game 4 in Milwaukee, we need to take those things and try to apply them the best we can. But there are two teams out there, and you know you're going to get a great shot from them.

Q. Talking about those five road games that you guys have played so far in the postseason. What have you liked and what have you not liked about what you guys have done?
BRAD STEVENS: I like the one we won. I didn't like the rest of them.

Q. What about just in terms of how you guys played during those games, though?
BRAD STEVENS: We had our moments, but we weren't as consistent as we need to be to win more. We're going to have to be really focused, really locked in, really consistent. It's even harder to communicate on the road. You've got to be great communicating. Our coverages change up based on who's on the floor with us and what we're trying to accomplish. So our guys really have to be good about that, and there's no reason to think they won't. They're locked in. But again, the other team is out there, too.

Q. Do you think this series has been more physical?
BRAD STEVENS: I think it's been pretty physical, and I think that that's just playoff basketball. Every single game adds even more of that, just because you're playing each other again and again and again. As I said last time when we were playing Philly, if we were all playing in an open gym game and we were all on our fifth game, we'd all be sick of playing against each other. That's just the way it goes. Playoffs are unique in that way.

Q. What allows Jaylen Brown to seize the moment?
BRAD STEVENS: Jaylen is fearless. Jaylen is tough. Jaylen continually gets better. He wants to get better. And I think sometimes because of his athleticism and his youth, he's got an unbelievable ability to get in there and make plays that other people can't make. But then I think sometimes we don't talk enough about how competitive he is. He's another tough, competitive guy.

Q. What is the plan for using these three days --
BRAD STEVENS: Yeah, yesterday was an off day. Almost everybody was in here getting treatment of some kind. And then today we didn't go live much, but we did go for an extended period and did some things that we need to do better defensively, did some things we need to do better offensively, some areas of focus. We'll lighten it up tomorrow as we get ready for Saturday. We're going to need every bit of energy we have for Saturday night.

Q. How is Shane Larkin progressing at this point?
BRAD STEVENS: He's doing well. He ran up and down the court a couple of times today. But any time that he would catch a ball or have to swing it to the next person, even in an offensive drill, it was uncomfortable. So he just stopped. But he is progressing well. What that means, he's not anywhere close to playing.

Q. The other night LeBron said that they have had problems in the third quarter. Have you seen anything like that?
BRAD STEVENS: Well, I just think everybody has their moments. It's game to game. Obviously, he's been there all year. He has a great feel for them. What we're trying to do is play all 48 the exact same way. We haven't been able to accomplish that. I thought we were really good at the start of the third. But I thought probably the key to the game was weathering the storm early, not letting it get out of hand.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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