Al Horford and coach Brad Stevens give us the Celtics lowdown ahead of their London visit.
Q. The start of the season so far for Boston has been very, very good. You’re currently in first place in the Eastern Conference. Do you think that this season you really have all the tools to fight against Cleveland in the postseason and to try, of course, to reach the NBA Finals?
AL HORFORD: Yeah, I mean, I feel like we’ve been playing really good basketball, like you said. I feel like we have a really young group that our guys just keep getting better as the season goes along. As a group, we’re going to keep getting better, and I do feel like we have what it takes to contend for a championship.
Q. You’re playing the Cavs on Wednesday. Your thoughts about playing against them again? And second, talk about how the young guys have been able to help you immediately, from Aron Baynes to Jayson Tatum to Jaylen Brown to the other young guys on the team.
AL HORFORD: It’ll be a fun matchup tomorrow, to go against Cleveland and see some of the former teammates. It’s going to be very competitive. We’re excited about the challenge.
I’ve been very encouraged by how quickly some of our younger guys have been able to come along and help us as a team. Part of our success is because they’ve been able to do what Coach [Brad Stevens] is asking of them. They’ve been put in tough positions, and they’ve been able to handle it really well. I feel like they’re going to continue to get better, and I’ll be very eager to see how we’re looking at the end of the year because I feel like they’ll be much more comfortable and we’ll be better as a group.
Q. What’s it been like to play with Aron Baynes this year, and what’s he brought to the lineup? Also, what are your thoughts on the way the team has handled the constant sort of changes in your lineup and the different sort of bumps and bruises throughout your road this season?
Q. We know Kyrie Irving’s one of the best players in the league. I would like to know where do you think he can get better — defence, leadership?
BRAD STEVENS: I think he can get better in every area on the court, and I think the best players in the league consistently have that focus. If you look at the last few MVPs in the league, especially as you go through [Stephen] Curry and then [Russell] Westbrook, the jump they made from the year before to their MVP year was as big as anybody. I think sometimes we look at most improved players as people that come off the bench and then start or go from not playing to a sixth man role, and we miss the fact that oftentimes the best players in the league are the most improved players from year to year, and there’s a reason why they’re where they are.
Kyrie works the right way. He’s got a great attitude about it. He wants to be great. He doesn’t take for granted what he’s already achieved. He works to be great the next day. And that’s why I think he’ll keep getting better.
Horford missed out when the Hawks came to London in 2014
Q. You mentioned you want the guys to take in some of the sights in London. How different is the prep for a road trip like this to one of the other ones you would do during the regular season in terms of different time zones, different climate, different fan base, different arena to what most of the guys have played in before?
BRAD STEVENS: Well, these guys are so used to playing in big arenas and special venues that we don’t give a second thought to that. I think it’s more the opportunity we do get to practice at least once or twice there, and we get to work on some things we need to work on. I mean, a lot of times in the NBA you’re playing one night, hopping on a plane, playing somewhere else the next and then flying out. This is the most unique part about this trip, other than the fact that it’s across the ocean in London, is the fact that we’re actually going to be in a city for a couple of days before we play and have a chance to work together.
So that’s a real unique part from a travel perspective from a preparation perspective. But everything else will be what I would say is pretty similar to the norm.
Q. You missed the chance to play in London when the Hawks came over a few years ago. Does that actually make it even more satisfying that you get the chance to actually come over here this time?
AL HORFORD: Yes. I’m very excited. As soon as we found out earlier this summer we were going to play in London, my wife and I were just ecstatic, very happy about it. I’m really trying to make the most out of the trip. We’ve been to London before. We love the city. So we’re looking forward to spending a couple days over there.
Q. What is it like working with such a young, talented group? Also, what it is like to be compared to Gregg Popovich because of the impact you’re having?
BRAD STEVENS: Well, first and foremost, I really enjoy coaching this group. We have a long way to go. I don’t think we’re playing at the level of a 60-win team, so we’ll find out how good we are when everything is done.
As far as being compared or talked about in the same breath as Coach Popovich, I would have to check the source and tell them they probably don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m not in that ballpark, and I’m pretty cognizant of that. This is a league that is incredibly humbling to be a part of because the players and coaches are so good.
Every single day you have to stay on your toes just to survive, and I think that that’s something that you don’t take for granted.
This is a difficult task against the best of the best. To be compared to somebody like Pop, again, it’s flattering, but I don’t take it too seriously because I know how far away I am from a guy like him.
Q. How important is it for the players and the league to play overseas?
BRAD STEVENS: I think we all recognize the impact of the NBA but certainly the impact of basketball across the world. I think of all the many incredible things that basketball has given to me, it’s been the opportunity to go to different places because of the game. When I was a college player, I played in four different countries in Europe. When I coached at Butler, we took our team to Finland. We took our team to Italy. We had set up a trip to go to Australia right before I left.
As part of the NBA, I’ve already gotten a chance to coach in Madrid and Milan and also go on an NBA Cares trip to Johannesburg, and now we get to come to London. Without basketball, I don’t get to go to any of those places.
To me, it’s just another thing to speak to why we’re so thankful to get an opportunity to do what we do, and kind of, I guess, the global impact of the game and how we’re all tied by the love of the game, and I think that that for a basketball junkie like me is the fun part of it.
 Q. Events like NBA London speak to the ever- increasing international culture within the NBA. Do you think that’s part of the reason the league is in such a good place?
BRAD STEVENS:Â I don’t think there’s any doubt that it’s one of the coolest parts of my job. I mean, we have a player from the Dominican Republic, we have a player from Germany, we have a player from Australia, we have a player from France, we have a player that was born in Egypt. It’s a special thing to be around people from all over the world working toward one common goal. That’s why people love sports, because we get a chance to see that kind of intentional pursuit, and it’s certainly a great part of the NBA, especially with all the different backgrounds on every team.
The Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics at The O2 in London on Jan. 11 as part of NBA London Game 2018. The game is live on NBA League Pass.
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