“Come able to play, or don’t come in any respect.”
That was Jaylen Brown’s prime takeaway from arguably the Celtics’ most disappointing defeat of the season so far.
Brown believed Boston didn’t play with sufficient effort or enthusiasm Friday evening towards a Nets group that got here in with a 2-12 file. The consequence: a 113-105 home loss at TD Backyard, throughout which the Celtics trailed by as many as 18 factors.
“We’ve bought to come back able to play,” Brown stated postgame. “We simply went by way of the motions in the present day. Like, I don’t perceive.”
In Brown’s eyes, the Celtics had been lacking their mandatory “edge” for “the vast majority of the sport.”
It was evident within the opening minutes, once they fell behind by seven factors whereas lacking 15 of their first 20 pictures. It was clear shortly earlier than halftime, when Anfernee Simons, Payton Pritchard and Josh Minott dedicated three turnovers in a three-minute span to shut out a 40-point second quarter for Brooklyn. It was apparent after Brown was referred to as for his fifth foul (“Powerful whistle,” he lamented) with 5:52 remaining within the third quarter.
The Nets, who led by three on the time, proceeded to tear off a 19-4 run to interrupt the sport open. Boston rallied within the fourth, attending to inside two with 5 minutes to play, however wilted down the stretch.
“No matter for those who’re making or lacking pictures, no matter something, we’ve simply bought to come back out and play with nice vitality, nice enthusiasm for the sport — like, need to win,” stated Brown, who totaled 26 factors, eight rebounds, 4 assists and two steals in 32 minutes. “It simply didn’t appear to be that was the case tonight.”
Brooklyn’s two wins earlier than Friday got here towards the one groups under them within the Jap Convention standings: the 2-14 Pacers and the 1-14 Wizards. The Celtics, now 8-8, had gained three straight and eight of their final 12, together with a highway win over the Nets on Tuesday, although they also trailed in the fourth quarter of that one.
Brown and different veteran Celtics have spoken this season candidly in regards to the present state of the group’s roster. They’re much less gifted, they admit, after shedding Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Vacation, Al Horford, Luke Kornet and the injured Jayson Tatum, and thus have a a lot slimmer margin for error than earlier Boston groups.
These Celtics are attempting to beat their lack of expertise by carrying opponents down with excessive depth and fixed effort. Fail to deliver that, and outcomes like Friday’s will occur.
“We have to play with an edge defensively and offensively,” Brown stated. “Like, we’ve bought to be the harder-playing group. That may’t be negotiable. And tonight, we weren’t. Brooklyn was the harder-playing group. They performed with extra edge, they usually deserved to win tonight.”
The Celtics’ different top-billed stars struggled within the loss: Pritchard had 13 factors on 5-of-13 taking pictures and was a team-worst minus-13, and Derrick White shot 2-for-13 to complete with six factors. They made only one 3-pointer between them after the primary quarter. Third guard Simons scored 23 factors in his season-high 33 minutes, which spiked after halftime with Brown in foul bother.
Brown praised younger wings Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez for the stress they utilized — Walsh was the one Boston starter to complete with a optimistic plus/minus, and Gonzalez was a plus-12 in his five-minute fourth-quarter cameo — however stated the group as a complete “simply lacked vitality.” It was “only a lackluster sport from the Celtics,” he stated.
“On the finish of the day, we’ve all bought a job to do,” Brown stated. “We’re all getting paid to do what we like to do. Come able to play basketball, otherwise you’re doing a disservice, so everyone’s bought to come back right here and be able to do their job and have nice vitality, enthusiasm and need to win. That’s what it’s about on the finish of the day: Celtic basketball.”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla stated the Nets “simply performed higher than we did.”
“And no matter file or not, we now have to play at such a special stage bodily, mentally,” he added. “We’ve to play at a special stage to be at our greatest. If we don’t play at that stage bodily or mentally at our greatest, we may lose any evening to anyone.”
The Celtics will host the Magic on Sunday (6 p.m.) to start a stretch of 5 straight video games towards doubtless playoff groups.
