Danny Ainge On Toucher & Rich: Celtics 'Lost Focus', Nets Weren't 'Respected' Enough
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics came away from Wednesday night with a 122-117 win over the Brooklyn Nets, and there was a lot to like about the team's performance. However, the team blew a 23-point lead and barely held off the Nets as Brad Stevens was forced to put his starters back into the game.
The Nets are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA in 2016-17 and allowing 117 points on the defensive end of the floor cannot happen to such a team. Celtics president Danny Ainge said the team lost their focus at the end when he joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Thursday morning.
"You have to give a lot of credit to Brooklyn," said Ainge. "I think we just lost our minds there. [It's] frustrating."
Ainge also suggested that the Celtics didn't respect the Nets' ability enough with their sloppy defense in the fourth quarter.
"We've got to be sure we're in tune defensively because that's going to be our staple," said Ainge of the Celtics' defensive effort on Wednesday. "Little disappointed with our defense last night. I just don't know if we respected our opponent as much as we need to. We're not such a good team that we can just show up and play."
Despite Ainge knocking his own team down a peg, there are still expectations that the Celtics will be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and, hopefully, win a playoff round or two as they look to build upon the 2015-16 season. Ainge stopped short of setting a concrete goal for the team but acknowledged that they will be playing with high expectations and need to work hard to meet them, regardless of the outcome.
"I expect our team to be good and competitive every night," said Ainge. "I expect our guys to take a step forward from last year. I think it's good that we have expectations because to build a championship team, you have to go through living up to expectations. Regardless if we do or we don't, it's important that we learn to deal with expectations."
Ainge also commented on how much the absence of Marcus Smart hurts the team defensively, the performance of Jaylen Brown in his NBA debut, and the team's tough decision to keep James Young and cut R.J. Hunter. Listen to the full podcast below:
