BOSTON — Celtics coach Brad Stevens and his staff will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars later this month in New Orleans.
All-Star coaches are determined by the teams with the best record in each conference through Sunday’s games. Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue is ineligible to coach this year’s game after serving in that role last season.
The Celtics ensured the second-best record in the East when the Toronto Raptors lost to the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr will lead the West.
Stevens, 40, has helped Boston to a 31-18 record entering Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston sat far behind the Raptors for much of the early part of the season. But a recent Toronto skid — the Raptors have lost eight of their past 10, including a head-to-head matchup with Boston on Wednesday — combined with Boston’s surge helped Stevens’ squad shuffle ahead in the standings. The Celtics are 18-6 since mid-December.
Stevens has downplayed what the honor would mean to him other than how it reflects his team’s success.
“It would be great because that means we’re playing at a good level,” Stevens said earlier this week. “What that means is good from where this team would stand. Otherwise, it’s not on a list of goals I have written down anywhere.”
Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas has joked that he wanted Stevens in New Orleans with him so he can get more playing time.
Stevens acknowledged it would be fun to coach the level of talent he’ll have in New Orleans.
“Being around players of that caliber is an amazing opportunity and honor, because it means your team is playing really well,” Stevens said. “Isaiah would be the first to say that individual honors follow teams’ success, and that would be the ultimate sign of that. That’s how coaches make that game.”
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