Boston Celtics: Brad Stevens explains how NBA London can help championship challenge
BOSTON CELTICS head coach Brad Stevens insists the NBA London game will give his side a rare opportunity to hone their skills even further in the race for the championship.
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This year’s edition of the NBA London game sees an interesting match-up between the Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Both teams will touch down in the English capital on Monday before their scheduled game at the 02 arena on Thursday night (8pm).
While Stevens is looking forward to taking in some of the sights London has to offer and of course the game itself, he is also excited about being able to a rare break in the schedule to allow more time on the practice courts.
The last time Boston travelled to Europe was back in 2007 when they played two pre-season games in Mexico and London and that sparked there 2008 Championship win.
And Stevens is fully aware of the benefits a trip like this upcoming one to London can have on his fledgling team.
“We very rarely in the last couple of years have left our practice facility to do anything in the preseason,” Stevens said.
“But we went away to a college about an hour and a half away to spend time together, eat meals together, do things together at the start of training camp, with a condensed training camp this year, with only three weeks to get ready for our first game, and knowing all the while that we have this trip ahead of us to do the same thing.”
The Celtics are currently top of the Eastern Conference despite summer addition and All-Star Gordon Hayward suffering a season-ending injury in their opening game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But while there will be plenty of competitive focus to ensure they come away with the win against the 76ers, Stevens is keen to ensure his side make the most of their downtime.
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“I think it's really important. It's important for us from a practice standpoint,” Stevens added.
“It's important for us from a spending-time-together standpoint. And we've got to balance well the preparation and time spent together and the opportunity to see the sights for a day or two.
“I think that's something that I really want to give our guys a chance to do.”
The Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics at The O2 in London on Jan. 11 as part of NBA London Game 2018. The game is live on BT Sport or via NBA LEAGUE PASS.
