INDIANAPOLIS — Brad Stevens did his best to stay out of the limelight, as usual, after the Celtics clinched their second trip to the NBA Finals under his watch on Monday night. The team president of basketball operations greeted players in a side hallway on their way to the locker room, staying out of view of most cameras.

Wyc Grousbeck gave Stevens a shoutout during the trophy presentation but Stevens otherwise succeeded in keeping a low profile after the win, just the way he prefers to operate. This was a night for the players and coaches, not for him. Make no mistake, Stevens fingerprints was all over this win as Boston overmatched its third straight East opponent on its way to securing the franchise’s first title in 18 years.

Boston had plenty of luck go their way when it came to shorthanded opponents in the past few weeks. However, this team created some of its own luck with the way it was built last offseason.

BUILDING A ROSTER TO WITHSTAND INJURY

The path to the NBA Finals couldn’t have been much easier for the Celtics but it’s easy to forget Boston cruised despite not having Kristaps Porzingis available for their last 10 games. A lot of that is a credit to Stevens and his front office for building a frontcourt to withstand that possibility.

A variety of low priced options fortified Boston’s pricy top talent all year long coming off the bench and those pieces came through during the postseason. Luke Kornet came through with multiple big games off the bench as a backup center while Payton Pritchard was a net positive in a sixth man role all postseason long. Even deep reserves Oshae Brissett and Xavier Tillman had their moments during the Pacers series.

 

More important than the bit players, Stevens built a core of starting talent capable of withstanding the absence of a player like Porzingis on the postseason stage. Jrue Holiday and Al Horford were able to slide into bigger offensive roles without taking away anything from their defensive contributions. All year long, Boston’s front office brushed off any declarations that the team needed flashier depth behind Porzingis and Al Horford. Through three rounds, that calculation looks the proper one.

NAILING THE BIG GAMBLES

Stevens wasted no time putting his fingerprints on this roster when taking over in the summer of 2021. He brought back Al Horford with a first-round pick and proceeded to value veteran production over future draft assets by sending out a first-round pick and a highly unprotected pick swap for Derrick White in 2022.

Horford has served as a rock for the team in the middle since his return, with the added bonus of Boston re-signing him on a discount extension after his max deal expired. His fit next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had always been ideal and bringing him back as a supplemental piece has put this group in position to succeed.

The same can be said for two years ago betting on White, who has surpassed the offensive upside even the most positive pundits probably had him pegged for in San Antonio. Finding a guy with his durability and defensive versatility has taken some pressure off Boston’s top talent, even if it took Coach Joe Mazzulla an extra year to give him the role he deserved.

Stevens fixed that problem though this offseason by sending Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon out the door to bet on White and sizable upgrades in Jrue Holiday and Porzingis. The window of opportunity was clearly here and now with this group with supermax salaries set to kick in a mere two years from now for Brown and Tatum. It was now or never for the Celtics to push all their chips in and they did so in a way that put them above the pack talent wise for the rest of the NBA