Mikal Bridges of the Nets attributes the blowout loss to the Celtics to a deficiency in “effort.”
The Brooklyn Nets have an opportunity to revitalize their season and reassert themselves in the Eastern Conference playoff race, with fewer than 30 games remaining. However, to achieve this, they must do so swiftly and with a renewed commitment to effort.
In the recent 136-86 defeat against the Boston Celtics, the Nets’ lack of effort was glaring. While facing arguably one of the NBA’s best teams, the Nets couldn’t alter their talent level but could control their intensity on both offense and defense.
Right from the start, it appeared the Nets failed to emerge from the locker room, as the Celtics opened the game with a commanding 16-4 lead and never relinquished control. The fourth quarter saw some of the lesser-used players like Trendon Watford and Jalen Wilson getting playing time, marking Brooklyn’s best quarter in terms of point differential.
The loss against the Celtics wasn’t a result of marginal errors or strategic missteps; rather, it was a manifestation of the Nets’ lack of effort on both ends of the court. Nets guard Mikal Bridges acknowledged this deficiency after the game, emphasizing the team’s failure to execute the defensive game plan:
“I think it’s a lot that just kind of came with tonight. I think effort for us, especially defensively, I think we didn’t have that effort. Whatever the game plan we had up there, I think we just didn’t execute it as we should.”
