Boston Celtics Struggle Late as Jaylen Brown and Derrick White COLLAPSE in Denver Loss
Boston Celtics unravel late as Denver Nuggets’ hot shooting and Jaylen Brown’s struggles fuel a wild finish. Has Brown’s MVP campaign hit a roadblock just as the national spotlight intensifies?
John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal breaks down the Celtics’ narrow loss, spotlighting Brown’s 33-point outing overshadowed by seven turnovers and crucial fourth-quarter mistakes. With Denver piling up 20 three-pointers and Jamal Murray dishing 17 assists, the Celtics’ depth and clutch play falter against strong bench performances from Zeke Nnaji and Jalen Pickett. Key topics include Derrick White’s off night, Payton Pritchard’s limited impact, and the ongoing battle for Eastern Conference seeding with challenges looming against the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs.
Can the Celtics regroup, or does this stretch threaten to derail their momentum? Don’t miss John Karalis’s sharp analysis on Boston’s next steps.
0:00 Celtics-Nuggets Game Recap
5:07 Denver’s Shooting & Boston’s Turnovers
12:36 Jaylen Brown’s MVP Case
19:41 National Perception & Fourth Quarter Narrative
24:13 Bench Depth Comparison
28:18 Fixable Issues & Next Games
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Locked On Celtics is a daily Boston Celtics podcast by Boston Sports Journal beat writer John Karalis. It’s an inside look at the C’s from a former professional basketball player who is at practices & games.
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24 Comments
Oh, it was so painful to watch. Guess the nay-sayers who said the Celts don't need JT back… they can be quiet now.
I wish Joe would have kept JB out longer during the last stretch of the 3rd quarter going into the fourth,he was exhausted.. and when he’s exhausted after playing his best he ends up making a few mistakes that the Celtics couldn’t overcome.
The last four minutes of the 4th quarter we could have come back.
The missed free throw shots also could have put us over the top.
We could’ve beaten Denver.
Two things in general.. one.. feels like JB felt he had to do it alone tonight which sure I get. But you're not going to win alone very often. Good reminder for him that he's gotta trust his teammates to find it late when it's a bad night.
Second… Is it me, or does it seem like most of our bad losses come when we have a measuring stick game on the horizon? Keep me honest, but if i remember correctly, the Jazz loss was right before a big game against the Pistons (I think?), the Blazers was before the Clippers, and this was right before San Antonio… Can't look past teams.
That 5 minute stretch where they didn’t score in the 4th doomed them. That, missing FTs (😡) and poor perimeter defense. Oh and Denver hit 20 threes-without Joker! On a happier note, a dream scenario crossed my mind today: imagine if the Patriots make the Super Bowl AND Tatum comes back that day vs the Knicks. 🤤🤔🙏🏻
Thanks John ☘️🔒🐾
Jb heard yall make a complimentary ep about how the advanced analytics do him no favors and said, “bet”
This game gave me evil Jaylen Miami game 7 flashbacks
On to Toronto
Brown is still very very good, he is around top 8-5 in mvp, witch is very very good, if this is his ceiling, aint non i can complain bout
My son asked me, did we win?(he didn't watch). I replied, No we lost. — I was honest.
He asked, what happened? I said, Oh, Denver was just better than us this game. — I was lying.
Shout out to the everydayers, I thought we missed Queta on a few wide open pick and rolls. Agree with you 💯 on JB. These are the moments he's got to prove the doubters wrong
'Charity Line' . . . make those $hots, C's WIN, nuff said 🙄
Wtf are u talking about ? Jb had 33 7 4 on 48/66. Is it Jaylens fault white and pp went 4/18 from 3 ? Did u miss the 1st 20 games of the season where white and PP shot EXACTLY like that and we lost games by 1 2 and 3 multiple times ????
Jaylen look so tired…he forced himself on the game. Bully ball. The team needed an infusion of energy and fresh legs, and none were forthcoming.
Brown got frustrated with the officials then played "angry isolation ball". He needed help from the bench and he might have gotten it if he would've passed it to them. The way it played out was an old problem that Marcus Smart once called both Jaylen and Jayson out for earlier in their careers, i.e. "Pass the damn ball man!!!!". IMO, If he had five fewer iso-s and made five more passes to either Simons, White, or PP and they could have won that game.
Speaking of officiating (due to Jaylen's lengthy critique post presser), pretty sure Drew Carter was saying during the broadcast that it felt like playoff atmosphere preview on the pressure scale… stepping stones, take 2 steps back to lean 5 steps forward into a sprint… just saying ☘︎
Also if we can't get an intro atleast give an outro, its been almost a solid month w/o Millyz 🥲
Jaylen played for himself and Jamal played for his team. Big difference. Jamal had more assist than all Boston. And Jaylen blaming the refs was embarracing. Such a mistake to play for your mvp…
They are allowed to lose games lol.
It was not pretty 😢 but on the upside the Knicks lost also have a good John 🍀🍀😎
The 4th quarter late execution blues again. Still a weakness with The C’s!
The fact that they couldn’t beat an undermanned Nuggets team ( at home), is disappointing!
Tx
☘️☘️👊
Disappointing but I think we all expected there to be more learning reps. A close loss is sometimes a good way to reveal the margins that need work.
Brown was ‘puffing his chest’ too much and as you said he reverted to his old bad habits. He deserves criticism for his performance in this game. I do hope that he bounces back quickly. The C’s need it!
It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that our three highest usage guys had no legs in the 4th.