Celts soak up success
Coach, players get close to Pats
WALTHAM — It may not have gone over too well back in his hometown of Tacoma, Wash., but Isaiah Thomas enjoyed himself immensely at the Patriots’ 34-16 playoff win over Houston last night.
The Celtics guard, wearing a Tom Brady jersey given him by the Pats’ quarterback, was seen down on the sideline before the game, exchanging a hug and pleasantries with LeGarrette Blount, a regular attendee of Celtics games.
“It was all right. It was nice,” said Thomas of the experience. “I mean, they won.
“I got a lot of backlash for switching up,” said Isaiah, who is also a big Seahawks fan and attended that team’s walkthrough Friday in Atlanta. “But it was good. Just to be on that field and be around (the Patriots), you could tell they’re just focused on winning a championship, winning a Super Bowl. You want to be around those type of players.”
Thomas wasn’t the only Celtics-type in Foxboro.
“I was there last night,” said coach Brad Stevens. “They showed Isaiah. I think he was sitting in his suite. I told him I was sitting outside and I enjoyed it.
“It was great, it was fun. It was my first game that I’ve been to. I went with my dad and my son. We loved going; it was fun to watch. I’ve gotten a chance to know a lot of those guys, and I think when you talk about rooting interests, you root for who you know and you root for people you create a relationship with,” said Stevens, a Colts fan from his Indiana days and a pal of Peyton Manning. “So I’m definitely rooting for (the Patriots). I hope that they can go all the way. It was fun to watch.”
Stevens has taken time to visit with Patriots coach Bill Belichick and, in addition to building a friendship, he has gotten a good idea of why the Pats have stayed successful.
“One of the things that they’ve created is sustainability and culture,” he said. “I think any coach wants to be in a position where, over the course of time, every single year that you suit up, you’ve got a chance. Because of their commitment to doing things the way that they want to do it, the tempo with which they operate, and, obviously, great acumen and doing their jobs well, they’ve created that.
“I can’t say enough good things about the job that he’s done, and I’ve gotten a chance to watch them work up close and, as I’ve told everybody here before, you feel pretty inadequate when you walk out of that building if you’re a coach.”
As for the aforementioned sustainability, Stevens said, “Doing it in an, obviously, a 32-team league and there has been a ton of change in the roster and it just keeps on churning out wins, regardless of who is on the field. Obviously, Brady’s been a constant through all of that. But, at the same time, there have been a lot of changes at a lot of significant positions, and those guys, I know it’s not cliche to them and it’s not cliche to anybody who is involved in sports, they just do their job well. That’s the bottom line.”
In a personal sense, Stevens evened up his record with the Pats’ win.
“I’m 1-1 in the playoffs in Boston this year,” he said. “I was at Game 3 of the Red Sox against the Indians. I felt good that we were there for a win.”