Getty Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown has never been one to willingly accept defeat and often cuts a disinterested figure during the Boston Celtics post-game press conferences if results haven’t gone his way.
Yet, on October 26, the Georgia native shared his belief in Boston’s current scheme’s on Twitter, channeling his now infamous ‘The energy is about to shift’ tweet from January 2022.
Trust the plan
Brown’s tweet is interesting, as, since Boston’s October 24 loss to the Chicago Bulls, there has been a ton of discussion surrounding Joe Mazzulla’s offensive approach and how the Celtics’ defense has suffered to begin the season.
Boston has gone from being the best defensive team in the NBA last season to currently ranking 25th in the league across the opening four games, marking a huge slide in execution from the Eastern Conference Champions. Of course, there is plenty of time for improvement, and it would seem that Brown is urging fans to remain patient and believe in their game plan.
Malcolm Brogdon Sends Warning to Cavaliers
Boston’s next game will take place on Friday, October 28, when they face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers and their impressive backcourt duo of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.
Speaking to the media on October 26, Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon cut a confident figure, as he took the time to declare that Boston is a team that’s perfectly situated to shut down Cleveland’s offense – as long as they execute on the defensive end.
“It’s an All-Star backcourt, so defensively we’re gonna have to be right, but I think that’s in our favor…. we’re the team to be able to guard them.”
Malcolm Brogdon on defending Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland 😤
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“Talented, extremely skilled, shoot the ball at a high level. It’s an All-Star Duo. It’s an All-Star backcourt, so defensively we’re gonna have to be right, but I think that’s in our favor. Because, defensively, I think we’re the best in the league, we’ve got big guards, we’ve got physical guards, we’ve got smart guards. We’re the team to be able to guard them,” Brogdon said.
Cleveland, like Boston, has won three of their first four games and is coming off the back of an October 26 victory over the Orlando Magic, although, it was a hard-fought contest.
Celtics Exploring TPE Trades
According to an NBA executive who spoke with Heavy Sports NBA Insider Sean Deveney, Boston is already exploring ways to improve their team and potentially use their TPEs whilst doing so.
“It is clear that they’re asking about big guys but they’re asking about wings, too, poking around. They’re taking the temperature on what might be out there, who might get released or bought out, who they might have to give up a pick, a first-rounder, a second-rounder, to get. It is early so no one is giving up on players now but when you get to late December and January, seems like they want to be in a good spot to make a call on what to do then,” The executive said.
One of the first times it felt like the Celtics defense was really reacting instead of anticipating. Early help is great but have to contain the drive. Ayo able to turn the corner, Smart helps, White sinks, nice cut from Dragic.
Of course, if Boston’s big-man rotation continues to struggle against some of the league’s more physical teams, a bigger trade than what their TPEs would facilitate would almost certainly be deemed necessary. However, we’re only four games into the season, so right now, there’s no need to panic or make any drastic changes to the roster.