Pregame Post-Ups: The Grind is Part of the Job

NEW YORK – “That’s just part of it,” said Brad Stevens, in some way, shape or form – five times in a span of exactly two minutes.

During Monday’s pregame availability at Barclays Center, Stevens broached the topics of the demands of the NBA schedule, the injuries it leads to, and when the All-Star break should fall within the six-month, regular-season schedule. He began by answering a question about the amount of injuries around the league, which opened up the rest of the conversation.

“I mean, we’re playing 59 games before the All-Star break, as is most teams in the league,” he said. “There’s gonna be guys out at times. That’s part of it. Hopefully, like in our case, those aren’t long-term, long-term injuries.”

He continued, “That’s just part of an 82-game season. And it is a grind physically. And these guys take care of their bodies to the very best of their ability. When you’re playing a physical game, up and down, you’re gonna have at the very least nicks and bruises, but you’re gonna have moments where you’re gonna have to miss. That’s just part of it.”

The counter was already at three following that question, before he commented more on the mental and physical demands the schedule puts on players. Stevens said that learning how to navigate the schedule is something everybody learns during their career, as Robert Williams and Brad Wanamaker are learning this season as rookies.

“I just think that’s a part of it. You get used to it, and you have to be able to move on, Stevens said. “And there are going to be days that aren’t as good, and there are going to be days that are really good, and you have to be able to move on either way. And that’s hard. That’s really hard.”

Stevens was also asked if, due to the Celtics playing 59 games this season before the All-Star break, he believes the break should be moves up on the schedule. He did not seem to lean either way on that topic.

“As I was looking at it, because we moved the season up, maybe there is an argument at some point to maybe move the All-Star break up,” he said, “but the benefit of it is you’re sitting at one-fourth of your season left. I think we found that to be beneficial last season heading into the Playoffs, where you’ve got a little bit more freshness come April [15th].”

Regardless of whether the league eventually decides to move the All-Star game up or not, one thing is for certain: players and coaches will continue to face a challenging grind every step of the way.

As Stevens said a handful of times Monday night, that’s just part of it.

- Marc D'Amico