NBA: Celtics are ‘team of the future in the East,’ coach Kerr says

FILE – In this Monday, Nov. 28, 2016, file photo, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr directs his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks in Oakland, California. Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is not yet ready to return to the bench as the franchise prepares for its third straight trip to the NBA Finals.

After dropping its first two games of the season, the Boston Celtics are sitting at the top of the NBA Standings, winning 13 straight games.

READ: Masked man: Irving returns as Celtics win 13th straight

Although the boys of Beantown are situated on the Eastern Conference side, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is keeping tabs on the league’s hottest team.

“It sure looks like Boston is the team of the future in the East, with the assets that they still have and their young talent and their coaching, and Kyrie (Irving) is amazing,” Kerr told ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

No stranger to accumulating consecutive victories both as a coach and a player, Kerr had nothing but compliments for the Brad Stevens-led squad.

“That looks like a team that is going to be at the top of the East for a long time to come,” he said. “Whether their time is now or the future, that’s to be determined, but they sure look like they want it to be right now.”

The odds didn’t seem to be in the favor of the storied franchise at the beginning of the year, retaining only four players from last year’s team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

To make matters worse, the team’s prized off-season free agent signing Gordon Hayward suffered a season-ending ankle injury on opening night.

Anchored by Irving’s magnificent play and steady contribution from veteran Al Horford and young guns Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are once again primed to rule at the top of the East and perhaps even more.

“Even without Gordon Hayward and that awful injury, Boston is just crushing people,” Kerr shared.

“So, it’s going to be really fun to go against them on Thursday. We know how tough it’s going to be,” he added, referring to the team’s match-up with the Warriors.

Kerr added: ”They’re really sound, and they’re motivated. It’s a team that’s been on the rise the last couple of years. They lost in the conference finals. They want to win a championship, and it looks like it”.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra

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