The Boston Celtics made the trip to Barclays Center to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday (Nov. 18) night, and fans of the team expected Boston to tear into their Atlantic Division opponent given the Nets were playing like one of the worst teams in the league to start the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
But in the first half of the contest, the Nets refused to comply, and the Celtics as a whole did plenty to help Brooklyn make a game of things with lazy passes, missed coverages, and a heaping helping of turnovers to boot — and not the sort you bring to Thanksgiving dinner, either. Then, in the games second half, Boston buckled down under the leadership of Jaylen Brown, who explained what went wrong after the 113-99 road win. “Just being careless with the ball,” he explained via CLNS Media.
“That was all of us, but especially me,” Brown admitted. “Just probably thinking too much, trying to get guys going.”
“But if anything, just hanging on to the ball, trying to get off it, trying to move it,” added the Georgia native. That’s what we want to do, but sometimes those teams are in the gaps. It’s better to just get a missed shot attempt than a turnover.” As for his 10-minute stint in the first half, much less than normal thanks to coach Joe Mazzulla pulling him early, Brown downplayed Mazzulla benching him in the first half.
“I was just playing like (expletive) in the first half. Honestly, turning the ball over, et cetera. So (it) just took a minute for me to figure it out, but I picked it up to close the game. But (I’ve) got to come out to a better start in the first half, especially in the first quarter. The team feeds off me, I know that, so I’ve got to be better.”
Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:
Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3