Getty Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics fell to their second straight defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic on Sunday, December 18.
Shortly after the contest had concluded, Jaylen Brown gave an expletive-filled interview bemoaning his own offensive struggles along with those of his team, noting how he believed everybody on the Celtics roster was missing makeable shots.
“You thought we was just going to shoot lights out for the whole season… s**t I wish. It never goes like that.”
JB talks the journey of an NBA season, and how the C’s move forward after two lough losses
“That’s just the NBA. That’s just how the journey goes sometimes; you know what I mean? You thought we were gonna shoot lights out for the whole season? S***, I wish. It never goes like that. But that’s a part of why you love basketball, why I love basketball. Tonight I didn’t play my best game offensively. I missed a lot of shots I know I can f****** make. I know we missed a lot of shots as a team I know we can make…So what, we shot 30% tonight against a team we should of beat, we learn from it, and we move forward,” Brown said
Despite his post-game rant, Brown was actually one of the Celtics’ more consistent performers throughout the contest, providing his team with 24 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, and two assists on 40% shooting from the field.
Jaylen Brown Takes Aim at Referee’s
Over Boston’s two-game stint against the Magic, Brown tallied 12 turnovers, most of them via traveling violations. As the Georgia native addressed the media, he detailed his wish for increased continuity in regard to traveling calls and how he feels like he’s being targeted by the officials.
Jaylen Brown says: “It seems like every f*****g game” referees are targeting him for traveling violations
📺Full Interview: t.co/IEqc5BEgMY
“It just seemed like we turned the ball over. We had a lot of travels. That’s something I’ve got to work on, I guess,…They pick and choose where they emphasize the traveling call. But it seems like every f****** game, like, ‘that’s [Brown] the person I’m targeting.’ But you look around the league, you know, you could pinpoint a lot of players doing the same thing. So, you can’t pick and choose when you want to call stuff, but it’s something I’m gonna work on. Definitely keep that pivot foot down because a lot of my turnovers tonight came from travel calls,” Brown said.
As a unit, the Celtics turned the rock over 16 times on December 18, twice more than they did during their December 16 meeting with the Magic, taking their two-game tally to 30 turnovers overall.
Marcus Smart Implores Celtics to Get Back on Defense
It’s no secret that the Celtics are currently amidst a shooting slump, with their perimeter offense looking increasingly limited. Of course, this is the same Celtics team that has been among the most consistent three-point shooting teams in the NBA over the first 30 games of the season, so odds are, they will get back on track in the near future.
However, according to Marcus Smart, who was speaking to the media during his post-game press conference, the Celtics need to consistently get back on defense rather than letting their shooting dictate their effort on the other side of the floor.
“We miss a shot that we usually make, and we’re just looking like, ‘What the heck is going on? It didn’t go in…Instead of getting back on the defensive end and making it up, then shooting that same shot and making it this time. That’s one thing we see,” Smart said.
Boston will be hoping they can move past their current struggles, which has seen them lose four of their past five games and get back to winning ways when they take on the Indiana Pacers on December 21.