Jaylen Brown believes the Celtics need to level up, and he’s not just talking about their play on the court.
Boston is starting to string ugly losses together. Its latest disappointing defeat came Sunday afternoon at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans, who overcame a 24-point deficit en route to an overtime victory at Smoothie King Center. It marked the largest comeback win in the history of the Pelicans franchise.
Brown, who never hesitates to speak his mind, offered a brutally honest take on the state of the Celtics after their third loss over their last nine games. The 24-year-old said the C’s “gotta mature and grow up,” per Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith.
The Celtics’ lingering struggles might not have anything to do with maturity or lack thereof. When you boil it down, Boston might just be a middle-of-the-road team. Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge recently suggested as much when he stated his belief that the Celtics, as currently constituted, aren’t a championship-caliber team.
The C’s dropped to 15-15 on the campaign with their loss to the Pelicans, and they reside in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings as of Monday morning. Boston will try to bounce back Tuesday night when it visits Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
