BOSTON - Doug Collins talked about the sensitivity of his young basketball team before the Philadelphia 76ers' last game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. This time around, with the Celtics and Sixers meeting in the second round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, Collins has changed his tune, saying his young club has made positive strides.
"My young guys are growing up," said Collins. "That's what you do when you play in these kind of moments. You can't pay for the experience that you're getting. That's why I always said, you know, for anybody who said being in the lottery as opposed to being in the playoffs is missing the point when you're trying to grow a young team. For us to be able to play like this and to see our guys perform under pressure and to do the things we have to do, it's exciting."
Collins also complimented his team's composure after the round one upset of the Bulls.
"I think we're great," Collins said about his team's composure. "We were 2-18 during the regular season in games under 90 points, we're 3-1 in the playoffs. We won two games under 80 points."
Game 1 between the Celtics and 76ers is set to tip off at 8:02 p.m. EST on Saturday night.
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