There will be no shortage of Boston Celtics storylines this summer following their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat.
Chief among them is the question of whether they should "run it back" and keep their core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart together. Judging by C's president Brad Stevens' end-of-season press conference, that seems to be the plan.
But after watching them come up short again in the postseason, some wonder about the chemistry between players. Are they simply going along to get along?
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Stevens answered that question on the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast with Chris Forsberg.
Celtics Talk: “I really believe in our foundation”-Brad Stevens on what’s next for Celtics in exclusive 1-on-1 | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"No," Stevens said. "Man, I would give anything to have won that Game 7 and be playing today because some of the conversations that I had individually with players, including on the bus ride home from that game, were so vulnerable and willing to do anything to play better. It was not anything like, 'Well, our backs are against the wall, man, we're in trouble. It was all, 'We can be better. That was an embarrassing game and we need to play better.' "
Boston Celtics
Despite how the series unfolded, Stevens is proud of how his players responded after losing the first three games.
"Games 1 and 2, we didn't play well in those spurts and it killed us. Game 3, we just got our doors blown off, and then you have a decision to make," Stevens said. "Credit our guys, the one thing that's inarguable is when their backs are against the wall, their grit shows."
Listen to the latest Celtics Talk episode for the full Stevens interview.
Also in the new episode: Reaction to Brad Stevens' press conference. How will the new CBA impact roster building? And how do we get better at TD Garden?
Check out the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network or watch it on YouTube.