NBA Notes: Celtics, Jaylen Brown, Nets, Egor Demin, Raptors

Celtics

The Celtics had held steady without Jayson Tatum, entering Friday at 8-7 despite a thinned-out roster. But their worst loss of the season arrived against the Nets, who came into TD Garden with just two wins over Indiana and Washington.

Brooklyn left with a 113–105 upset, and Boston left with frustration.

Jaylen Brown didn’t sugarcoat it. As relayed by Jay King of The Athletic, Brown said the Celtics simply didn’t bring the necessary energy.

“Come ready to play, or don’t play at all,” Brown said. “We just went through the motions today. Regardless if you’re making or missing shots, we’ve got to come out and play with great energy, great enthusiasm. Want to win. It just didn’t seem like that was the case tonight.”

Brown added that showing up locked in is part of the job.

“We’re all getting paid to do what we love to do,” he said. “Come ready to play basketball, or you’re doing a disservice. Everybody’s got to come here ready to do their job.”

With Tatum out for most, if not all, of the season due to an Achilles tear, and Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis moved over the summer, the margin is thin. Coach Joe Mazzulla echoed that reality.

“Our margin for error is smaller,” the Celtics coach said. “We have to be sharp physically and mentally every night.”

Nets

Brooklyn rookie Egor Demin was benched for the final 20 minutes of Tuesday’s loss in Boston after struggling defensively, as Dan Martin of The New York Post relayed.

A few nights later, Demin answered. He knocked down a big fourth-quarter three and helped the Nets pull off the upset in the rematch.

“He played so hard, and that’s why he earned the right to be out there,” coach Jordi Fernandez said, via Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “And he showed composure.”

Raptors

Darko Rajakovic is starting to build a Coach of the Year case.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca points out that after 25 and 30 wins in his first two seasons, Rajakovic has the Raptors at 11-5 with Brandon Ingram fitting smoothly into a free-flowing system.

Lewenberg notes that Ingram’s arrival and a deeper bench have helped, but Rajakovic deserves credit for getting the roster to buy into structure and pace while finding lineups that complement one another.

Without a doubt, Toronto’s early balance has been a major storyline through the first month.