The Boston Celtics just suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in recent NBA history.
They lost 150-117 to an Oklahoma City Thunder team missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, getting completely outplayed and outhustled on both ends of the floor.
Notably, the Celtics had been one of the most consistent teams in the Association, making this loss even more shocking.
However, it wasn’t exactly surprising for Jaylen Brown, who believes the team had it coming for being way too confident and not living up to the intensity that the game required.
“Came out the last couple games, we pick and choose when we want to play,’ the guard told the media after the loss. “We weren’t connected, we didn’t have each other’s back out there. No help-side defense; we didn’t guard our yard. Those young boys over there came out and made us look bad. They embarrassed us.”
“It’s just a maturity mindset thing,” Brown added. “You can’t come out and expect teams to just give it to you. We’ve been saying like, you got to expect team’s best shot. Of course. That’s exactly what’s happening: Teams are coming out, they’re ready, they’re amped to play. We’re just thinking we’re going to stroll out and just figure it out down the line from A-to-Z.”
"We probably had it coming to us… we pick and choose when we want to play… they embarrassed us."
Jaylen Brown gets candid after tough loss to OKC pic.twitter.com/w4qEyuIuQa
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 4, 2023
Fortunately for them, they have more than enough talent to get past this minor skid and straighten the ship again.
But they cannot afford to keep overlooking lesser rivals if they want to be taken seriously come playoff time.
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