Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Sends Not-So-Subtle Message After Nuggets Loss

It isn’t often this iteration of the Celtics find themselves on a losing streak, but that’s exactly where they’re at following a loss to the Nuggets on Thursday.

Boston’s inability to find consistency on the offensive end helped Denver secure the win, and a sweep the season-series.

In the grand scheme of things, this likely is just a blip on the regular-season radar for the league’s best team. There’s value in seeing how Boston responded to back-to-back disappointing losses, though. The C’s didn’t blame anyone but themselves following the game but were honest enough to challenge each other after the fact.

Jaylen Brown, for example, sent a not-so-subtle message regarding Boston’s strategy on two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

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“I feel like I should have guarded Jokić a little bit, a little more,” Brown said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I wish I would’ve had those opportunities a little bit. I could keep him away from the basket and we could’ve took away some of those layups they got, but I feel like we still had every chance to win this game and just came up short.”

Brown didn’t start tossing blame on anyone directly, but it seemed like another pointed message toward Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. Brown has stated on multiple occasions that he wants to draw Boston’s toughest defensive assignments, and typically does, but that wasn’t the case Thursday.

It isn’t like the three-time All-Star didn’t take full ownership of his hand in the loss, however.

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“It starts with me,” Brown said. “It starts at the top, starts with Jayson (Tatum), and we made too many mistakes and it cost us the game.”

Mazzulla’s been blessed with the most talented roster in the NBA, but what comes with that is managing egos. The Celtics don’t have anyone kicking and screaming for more shots or anything, but opportunities like guarding the best player on the planet are something multiple people will want a crack at.

Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Xavier Tillman, as Boston’s best post defenders, got a crack at it this time around. If there’s another chance, it will come in June during the NBA Finals, and it’s safe to say the Celtics will give Brown the opportunity he’s been asking for.