Boston — The Celtics entered Friday at 8-7 despite a shortened rotation, but left TD Garden with their most disappointing result of the season, falling 113-105 to a Brooklyn squad whose only previous wins came against Indiana and Washington.
Guard Jaylen Brown was blunt afterward, telling reporters the team failed to match Brooklyn’s intensity. “Come ready to play, or don’t play at all,” Brown said, according to The Athletic’s Jay King. “Regardless if you’re making or missing shots, we’ve got to come out and play with great energy, great enthusiasm.” He added that showing up locked in is “part of the job” for a roster now missing Jayson Tatum for most, if not all, of the season because of an Achilles tear, and without offseason departures Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla echoed the concern. “Our margin for error is smaller,” he said. “We have to be sharp physically and mentally every night.”
Nets
Rookie guard Egor Demin, benched for the final 20 minutes of Tuesday’s loss in Boston after defensive struggles, responded in the rematch. Demin drilled a key fourth-quarter three-pointer and helped Brooklyn secure the upset. “He played so hard, and that’s why he earned the right to be out there,” head coach Jordi Fernández said, via The New York Post. “And he showed composure.”
Raptors
In Toronto, first-year head coach Darko Rajakovic is drawing early Coach of the Year consideration. As noted by TSN.ca’s Josh Lewenberg, the Raptors are 11-5 after winning just 25 and 30 games over the past two seasons. Forward Brandon Ingram has blended smoothly into Rajakovic’s free-flowing system, and a deeper bench has aided an offense built on pace and balance.
The Raptors’ improved structure and lineup flexibility have been a key storyline during the season’s opening month.
Source: Hoops Wire
