SAN FRANCISCO -- After Sunday’s loss to the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he had a lengthy discussion with star guard Kyrie Irving about the ups and downs of the season.

The conversation stretched over multiple days -- both on the team plane on the way to California and on Monday -- and while Stevens downplayed its importance (“I wouldn’t blow it out of proportion,” he said in response to a follow-up question), he said he believes Irving came away wth a renewed sense of how much season still remains in front of the Celtics.

“You could tell that was something that had really hit him in that moment,” Stevens said. “That there’s a lot of year left, and these will either be a part of the story that stays consistent and you’ll be able to write the story now, or these will be blips on the radar and you’ll be like, ‘Huh. Turned into something really good.’”

On Monday, Irving -- who had often been terse and clipped with the media over the last few weeks -- took a new tone in his media availability. He explained how difficult having cameras in his face all season has been (which, fair enough), and he stressed the importance of being a leader over the upcoming stretch as the Celtics try to finish the season strong.

Irving was also asked about his relationship with Stevens in his second year with the team, and whether the duo have grown.

“We have a year in together, so I would hope that after a year that we were a lot closer, but also he’s never coached any player like me,” Irving said. “So, like, if you think about Brad’s years of having just an established player where I’m coming from a situation where I was on the number one team competing against Brad and now I’m on his team and he’s putting me in his system, so it’s like, that’s a big transition for anyone to do. I think that a lot of NBA players that don’t realize how hard it is just to get traded or ask for a trade, that’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my career because I had to talk to management, I had to go through the the whole process and it’s a hard thing to do to move forward from that. I had to pick my family up and make a transition, and I’m doing the best I can with the group I’m afforded because they’re really good guys and they’ve shown we’re capable of winning at a very high level.”

For his part, Stevens said he has tried to be consistent with Irving this season as his star goes through all of his struggles.

“Ultimately, I don’t necessarily only spend time thinking about these guys as the basketball players with the capes on,” Stevens said. “Spend a lot more time trying to put ourselves in other shoes and understanding all the things that they have to carry. I think Kyrie has obviously had an incredible year. He’s a six-time All-Star, he was an All-Star again, and he was a no-brainer All-Star. I also think he has shouldered a heavy, heavy load, and there’s a lot that comes with that, and there’s a lot of stress that comes with that. And I think he would be the first to tell you that this year hasn’t gone exactly how he hoped, but this year is not over.”

Stevens added that getting back to a sense of urgency is easy, particularly given all of Boston’s struggles over the last few weeks.

“Hopefully these things remind us how bad we need each other,” Stevens said. “The reality is Kyrie was an All-Star but our strength was in our depth, so Kyrie can do things that other guys can’t do, those guys all bring certain strengths to the table but if we’re not playing well, all nine of us, then we’re not as good as we hoped to be. ...

“I do think the reality is we all need a place to be human and to understand that, hey, when it’s not going great what can we all do a little bit better and have a great, enjoyable experience and that’s what we’ll work on.”