Stevens pumps brakes on Kerr's Celtics praise: 'Future is hard to predict'

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr thinks the Boston Celtics could be the East team to beat for years to come, but Celtics coach Brad Stevens isn't quite there yet.

Stevens is currently presiding over a dominant Celtics side that has won 13 straight, but he doesn't want his players to get ahead of themselves by believing in their own hype.

"The future is hard to predict," Stevens told Jay King of MassLive. "And we've gotta stay in the moment to become the best version of ourselves, is the answer that I have.

"I really appreciate him (Kerr) saying that. There's nobody that I could respect more. He's an incredible person and coach. But, yeah, we have to stay in the moment and try to be as good as we can be and then we'll see what the future holds."

Kerr talked up the red-hot Celtics ahead of their highly-anticipated showdown on Thursday. He even rated them as the best in the East - even ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers - a team the Warriors have met in the Finals for three straight seasons.

"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.

"That looks like a team that is going to be at the top of the East for a long time to come," Kerr added. "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."