Celtics' Five-Game Win Streak Snapped by Shorthanded Nuggets: What We Learned
A five-game winning streak for the Boston Celtics came to an end on Wednesday night as they fell 114-110 to a shorthanded Denver Nuggets team. The loss was a disappointing one, with the Celtics struggling to contain Jamal Murray and the Nuggets' sharpshooting from beyond the arc.
For those who missed it, let's break down what went wrong for Boston. At times, their defense seemed sloppy, particularly in switching lineups. "I think they just went to that switching lineup and we weren't able to get the looks that we want to get," said Jaylen Brown after the game. "So just got to be better at that and learn a lot from it and try to see what we do better." This was particularly evident in the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets put up 14 points without scoring while the Celtics struggled to respond.
Jaylen Brown, who put up 33 points but had seven turnovers, including three of them after the Nuggets took a nine-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. He also missed several shots around the rim and mid-range, areas where he's typically very effective. It's understandable that Brown was frustrated by the officials, who called some tough whistles in his favor throughout the game.
Meanwhile, Anfernee Simons continued to impress off the bench, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring a couple of layups over heavy defenders. His hot streak has been a boon for the Celtics, who have struggled to find consistent scoring outside of Brown's shoulders. However, there may come a point when it becomes necessary to consider moving Simons into the starting lineup or giving him more freedom to create shots on his own.
Neemias Queta had another strong game off the bench, pulling down 20 rebounds – 10 of which were offensive – and playing just 24 minutes. His effectiveness has been a crucial factor in Boston's recent success.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, are no joke. Despite being outscored by 6.5 points per 100 possessions with Nikola Jokic off the floor this season, they have come up big against teams that were expected to be strong, including the Celtics and 76ers.
Looking ahead, the Celtics will need to bounce back quickly from this loss as their schedule heats up in January. They take on the Raptors on Friday before visiting the Spurs on Saturday, with a trip to Indiana on Monday coming next.
A five-game winning streak for the Boston Celtics came to an end on Wednesday night as they fell 114-110 to a shorthanded Denver Nuggets team. The loss was a disappointing one, with the Celtics struggling to contain Jamal Murray and the Nuggets' sharpshooting from beyond the arc.
For those who missed it, let's break down what went wrong for Boston. At times, their defense seemed sloppy, particularly in switching lineups. "I think they just went to that switching lineup and we weren't able to get the looks that we want to get," said Jaylen Brown after the game. "So just got to be better at that and learn a lot from it and try to see what we do better." This was particularly evident in the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets put up 14 points without scoring while the Celtics struggled to respond.
Jaylen Brown, who put up 33 points but had seven turnovers, including three of them after the Nuggets took a nine-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. He also missed several shots around the rim and mid-range, areas where he's typically very effective. It's understandable that Brown was frustrated by the officials, who called some tough whistles in his favor throughout the game.
Meanwhile, Anfernee Simons continued to impress off the bench, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring a couple of layups over heavy defenders. His hot streak has been a boon for the Celtics, who have struggled to find consistent scoring outside of Brown's shoulders. However, there may come a point when it becomes necessary to consider moving Simons into the starting lineup or giving him more freedom to create shots on his own.
Neemias Queta had another strong game off the bench, pulling down 20 rebounds – 10 of which were offensive – and playing just 24 minutes. His effectiveness has been a crucial factor in Boston's recent success.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, are no joke. Despite being outscored by 6.5 points per 100 possessions with Nikola Jokic off the floor this season, they have come up big against teams that were expected to be strong, including the Celtics and 76ers.
Looking ahead, the Celtics will need to bounce back quickly from this loss as their schedule heats up in January. They take on the Raptors on Friday before visiting the Spurs on Saturday, with a trip to Indiana on Monday coming next.
meanwhile anfernee simons is straight fire off the bench hitting those 3s and scoring easy layups gotta consider moving him to start or giving him more freedom to create shots on his own tho
just dont get it why they cant contain murray 
any team can have one bad game but 5 straight losses is a problem 
and whats up with simons being benched all the time? i think he should start already! 
20 rebounds from queta tho 
that guy is a beast lol
. The Celtics were all over the place on defense and Jaylen Brown had a major meltdown in the 4th quarter 
. Like, seven turnovers is a lot, even for someone as clutch as him 
. The Nuggets are no joke though, they're like that new Marvel movie everyone was talking about - unpredictable and deadly 
. Anyway, the Celtics gotta bounce back ASAP or risk getting left in the dust 
.
. And Anfernee's hot streak is awesome, but they should consider giving him more freedom to create shots on his own. He's not gonna be able to keep this up all season if they start playing him like a backup. 
20 rebounds from neemias queta tho is amazing he's such a beast on the court 
he needs 2 work on his decision making & footwork if he wanna lead the celtics 2 victory 
and yaaas anfernee simons is killin' it off the bench! maybe he should get more mins in the starters lineup? 
queta's been a beast, btw 
gotta keep him in the mix. anywayz, celtics need 2 bounce back ASAP before they fall further behind in the standings 
. and yeah, switching lineups can be tricky, but i think brown's been playing well overall... not all his fault he had some rough shots. plus, simons is killing it off the bench 
. queta's also doing awesome work in the paint. gotta give the nuggets credit too, they came out on top against a tough team. and yeah, maybe boston should consider giving simons more freedom to create... but i don't think that means he has to start or anything 
. they'll bounce back from this loss, no worries 
20 rebounds in 24 minutes? that's just crazy talk. gotta root for these guys to bounce back strong from this loss 
️. Jaylen Brown had some tough moments after that 9-point lead was taken with like, 5 minutes left 
. And what's up with all those TOs? 
. Boston's defense was really exposed, especially when they went to switching lineups, and it paid off big time for Denver. Jaylen Brown had a rough night, with seven turnovers and some poor shot selection, but he'll bounce back - that's what he does best 
. Anfernee Simons is another player who's been making the Celtics more interesting, and his bench minutes could get longer if they need to boost scoring outside of Jaylen's shoulders 
.
. And yeah, Neemias Queta is like the ultimate bench player – always coming through when it matters most! 
.
it's like they couldn't contain jamal murray and the nuggets were getting those deep threes all day I feel bad for jaylen brown though, he had a great scoring night but he had some tough shots to make around the rim that didn't go in