Celtics record vs. NBA elite has Brad Stevens hinting at change

BOSTON — Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is a winner. He has a 2024 NBA title, two NBA Executive of the Year Awards, and a long string of playoff runs to prove it. So, he understands that anything short of winning doesn't cut it, especially in Boston. Perhaps that's why his exit interview on Wednesday morning wasn't full of praise for the scrappy 2025-26 Celtics who exceeded expectations and posted a surprising 56-26 record during the regular season. The C's fell short of the ultimate goal and didn't win when it mattered most, dropping Game 7 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night for the Green Team's earliest playoff exit since 2021. Stevens could have discounted this season as a "gap year." They didn't have star forward Jayson Tatum for a majority of it, after all. But, he owned up to the Celtics' shortcomings and emphasized a need to improve over everything else. "Though we did a lot of good things, we lost in the first round, and we were also 3-11 against the top three seeds in the West and the other top two in the East," Stevens said at the Auerbach Center. "And so we've got to get better. And that's been the communication in here, just talking to the team." There was no mention of Boston's fifth straight regular season with at least 50 wins. Instead, Stevens focused on the fact that the Celtics were a combined 2-6 against the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks — the first and third teams in the Eastern Conference, respectively — and 1-5 against the top three seeds in the Western Conference (the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets). "We have to play well in the regular season to get to where we want to go, and so we don't want to undersell the regular season," Stevens began. "That said, as I look at us honestly, I think that how we played against the best teams is relevant and should be taken into account as we look at our team moving forward." At the moment, every one of the top six seeds in the East and West are still in the postseason mix besides the Nuggets and Celtics. And while the Celtics extending their league-leading playoff streak to 12 straight years was impressive in light of Tatum's lengthy absence and underwhelming preseason projections, Stevens isn't satisfied. And neither is Boston, a championship-crazed city used to rings and parades of duck boats. With the high standards of the Celtics and Stevens in mind, it's no surprise the front office might shake things up this summer. How much roster upheaval occurs remains to be seen, however, Stevens has witnessed enough basketball to know his current squad isn't at the precipice of a title right now. "We've been to six Eastern Conference Finals, a couple of (NBA) Finals in the last few years," Stevens listed. "We've won one, and when you get beat in the first round, you're not there." Tatum healing up during the lengthy offseason will greatly benefit the Celtics, yet Stevens understands that Boston's issues are deeper than injury misfortune. Tactics will have to be improved, players might be shuffled, and new blood could be injected into the lineup. "We need to add to our team," Stevens asserted. Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Blue Wire:  iTunes:  YouTube:  *This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: *