Celtics Journal: Stevens too busy to ponder good old days

BOSTON — He hasn’t had any time for a trip down memory lane since preparation for the NBA playoffs began last week.

Brad Stevens has been too busy with more pressing matters as head coach of the Celtics.

He will have to wait for another time to reflect on coaching against the Indiana Pacers, the team he followed while growing up in the Hoosier State, in the first round.

Stevens, now in his sixth season on the Celtics’ bench, was a [...]

BOSTON — He hasn’t had any time for a trip down memory lane since preparation for the NBA playoffs began last week.

Brad Stevens has been too busy with more pressing matters as head coach of the Celtics.

He will have to wait for another time to reflect on coaching against the Indiana Pacers, the team he followed while growing up in the Hoosier State, in the first round.

Stevens, now in his sixth season on the Celtics’ bench, was a typical Indiana kid, playing plenty of basketball and following the college game plus the Pacers.

He grew up in Zionsville, Indiana, set four records while playing at Zionsville Community High School and also played at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He went to work at Eli Lilly and Company before getting into coaching as a volunteer at Butler University in 2000.

It wasn’t until Danny Ainge approached him in the summer of 2013 with a six-year, $22-million contract that Stevens left Indiana for the first time.

Now, he is going against those same Pacers he rooted for. Reggie Miller, a legend when he was with the Pacer for his scoring ability, has been at TD Garden working on the TNT telecast and Indiana’s own Larry Bird, who works for the Pacers as an adviser, has been back at the Garden.

But Stevens won’t spend much time thinking about the good old days as he tries to get the Celtics into the second round.

“I think if I would (reflect), I’d say it’s surreal, right, because I’m an Indiana kid,’’ said Stevens prior to Game 2 against the Pacers on Wednesday night. “Basketball and that state are really, really important to me.

“That being said, I kind of stay in this world of focus ahead and focus on what’s next and I’ll look back on it after the fact.’’

Stevens and the Celtics will be in Indiana for Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, but he won’t be doing a lot in the way of reunions over the weekend.

“When we go to Indiana, I’ll be holed up in my hotel room and I’ll see people in the summer,’’ said Stevens. “We’ve got a job to do and so we’re really focused on that.’’

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is also a native of Indiana. He played at Brownsburg High School before joining Stevens at Butler for two seasons. The Bulldogs took Duke to the wire in the national championship game in 2010.

Hayward, now in his ninth NBA season, said he’s been around long enough to not be affected by the homecoming.

“I’ve been in the NBA for a long time now, so it’s not as strange,’’ said Hayward. “I think the only thing is I’m going to be back where I grew up for (some) of the games. Certainly a lot of friends and family will be there.

Horford starts

Al Horford was listed as questionable after missing the morning shootaround due to an illness.

But Horford arrived at the Garden a couple of hours before the game, received treatment from the training staff and was in the starting lineup for Game 2.

“(Tuesday) night, he got sick and reported right away,’’ said Stevens. “Got a good night’s sleep, woke up feeling way better. I don’t know if it was something he ate. I don’t know what the deal was. We kept him away (from the shootaround) and he got a good day of rest. He’s feeling pretty good right now.

“Something didn’t feel right, something didn’t go right and he said he was sick.

We were worried last night that it could be a 24 or48-hour thing. He woke up feeling a lot better.’’

Looking for more

Jaylen Brown has been to the Eastern Conference finals in his first two seasons in the NBA, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers both times. He is trying to help the Celtics take the next step this postseason.

“I’m blessed,’’ said Brown. “Three years in the league, all three years making it to the playoffs and two back-to-back Eastern Conference finals.

“I’m feeling comfortable and experienced, but at the same time I’m feeling hungry. Two years I’ve been left short and I’ve got a void to fill.’’

Brown appeared in his 37th playoff game on Wednesday night, making his 17th start. He averaged 12.6 minutes per game as a rookie and played 32.4 minutes while making 15 starts a year ago.

Scene shifts

The next two games will be played at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

This marks the Celtics first playoff game in Indiana since May 5, 2005, when the building was called the Conseco Fieldhouse. The Celtics won Game 6 of an opening-round series that night, 92-89, in overtime.