13:35 ET
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Tim BontempsESPN
SAN FRANCISCO – The Boston Celtics are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in more than a decade, but first-year coach Ime Udoka said that’s no reason to celebrate.
“We do not hang any banners [for that] here, ”Udoka said, referring to winning the Eastern Conference.“ It’s a bigger picture. I think the boys’ mindset has changed pretty quickly.
“Enjoy it. Guys enjoy it, and you have that free time. Even [Sunday] night in the media [after Game 7]and obviously with us in the locker room, the guys are already talking about what’s to come and the overall picture we have at our fingertips.
“That’s not what we’ve come to do. You enjoy it and move quickly to the task at hand.”
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The task, of course, is to find a way to beat the Golden State Warriors, who won three championships and made five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019 before losing the playoffs each of the last two seasons. .
As a result, Golden State enters this series with 123 games of collective experience in the NBA Finals. Boston, on the other hand, has no player on its roster who has appeared in a finals game.
Udoka, however, said he is not worried about the experience gap, noting the experience he and his assistant coaches have in the finals, including assistant Ben Sullivan who won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks. last year and Udoka himself won a title after being a coach. multiple finals with the San Antonio Spurs, and the amount of playoff experience their players have.
“I can say that, being there, I know what’s going on and we’ve already shared some of these stories, as well as some of the other coaches on my staff who have been there and won championships,” Udoka said. “So from that point of view, that’s what it is. We’re going to have some meetings with the group and talk about these things. But I think in general we have a very mature group, especially with our young people. [Horford] and Marcus [Smart], and our veterans are always very balanced and keep us on the line up here. And then I’m not really worried about Jayson [Tatum]Jaylen [Brown] and the younger ones who have not stepped on that stage. As I said, they made it to the Eastern Conference finals several times and took that step, so we know what we have in front of us.
“We know what we’re here to play, and I don’t think any of us are scared or intimidated at all. We understand what it is. We know the opponent we have in front of us. And for us, as always, this year has gone As always, we go on the road, it doesn’t bother us at all. We’re really looking forward to it. There’s not a lot of anxiety or nervousness.
As part of that break and preparation, the Celtics will also have the opportunity to allow Robert Williams III to manage the left knee pain that has plagued him during the playoffs, and for Smart to relax from a variety of illnesses up. and down. right leg, including his quad, ankle and foot.
Williams missed three games against the Bucks in the conference semifinals and the third game against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals after suffering a bone contusion to his left knee, the same one he underwent. meniscus in late March, which caused him to miss the end of the regular season and the start of the first round of the Boston series against the Brooklyn Nets.
Udoka said the rest would be beneficial for Williams, but that, as the coach said earlier, Williams will have to manage his knee for the rest of the playoffs.
“Rob is fine,” Udoka said. “It’s good. It felt good. His minutes were low, he only played 14 inches [Game 7 against Miami]. We tried to keep it at the bottom if we could. Obviously, this is beneficial for him in the future, but the days off as well. So it should feel better overall. They are being looked at today and will continue to receive their treatment and rehabilitation and in order to reduce inflammation and return some of the pain and mobility. And so it will be a continuous thing, as I mentioned. It’s almost a day in the playoffs. “
Udoka added that Williams, in particular, should benefit from the sparse nature of the NBA Finals, with two days off between each game except Games 3 and 4 in Boston.
“[He] he should feel better with the time in between, especially with those two days off between games, instead of playing every other day. And I think back in the Milwaukee series, we played 17 days in a row every two days, and that will take a toll on you to get out of surgery. We keep our minutes down and we make him feel better again, obviously that will benefit us in the future. “
As for Smart, who missed Games 1 and 4 against Miami, first with a sprained ankle, then with an sprained ankle, Udoka said he is fine after playing intense minutes in the 7th game win. Boston over Miami.
“Marcus, there’s no concern about that,” Udoka said. “The bloat is what it is. It will dissipate over time.
“The issue of pain tolerance can obviously play a big part, and it did [in Game 7] and he played heavy minutes. “