Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown took a swipe at former league MVP Joel Embiid for not enjoying back-to-backs.
Brown: “It’s arduous to be nice in the event you by no means play back-to-backs”
Following Boston’s blowout victory over the Miami Warmth on a back-to-back, Embiid caught a stray from Brown in his postgame press convention.
Brown impressed at TD Backyard with 29 factors, seven rebounds and 4 assists because the Celtics bounced again from a detailed defeat in Cleveland the evening earlier than.
“It’s arduous for groups to be nice if a few of their greatest gamers by no means play back-to-backs.
“Even whenever you’re not feeling nicely, to point out that you just’re nonetheless out there, I feel type of simply units the tone on your group to have the identical kind of mindset.”
The 28-year-old didn’t play an element in Cleveland as a consequence of sickness and proper up till the pregame shootaround on Monday, he was listed as questionable on the damage report however battled by way of to be on the court docket.
Based on the greatest on-line betting websites, Boston are the title favorites as soon as once more they usually’re priced at +225 to grow to be the primary back-to-back champions since Steph Curry and Kevin Durant’s Golden State Warriors.
Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard mix for 54 within the @celtics W!
☘️ JB: 29 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 4 3PM
☘️ PP: 25 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 5 3PM pic.twitter.com/hju5gLr36K— NBA (@NBA) December 3, 2024
Does the league have a back-to-back downside that wants addressing?
Within the present schedule, NBA groups face a mean of 15 back-to-back video games per season – a quantity which has steadily elevated over the previous few years from 13.3 in 2022-23 and 14 in 2023-24.
Star gamers sitting out on one recreation of back-to-backs has grow to be an alarming development in current instances, which incorporates Embiid who has admitted he might by no means play in each video games for the remainder of his profession.
Earlier than the 2023-24 season began, the NBA launched a revised participant participation coverage which tried to assault this downside by imposing sanctions on groups whose star gamers missed high-profile video games.
