Jaylen Brown responds to Marcus Smart’s postgame comments after the loss to the Bulls and discusses the players-only meeting the team held ahead of their game in Orlando
The Boston Celtics held a players-only meeting Tuesday to discuss Marcus Smart's candid comments about the team's fourth-quarter offense in a loss to the Chicago Bulls the previous night, as well as what he wanted to see from the team's two young stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Before the Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 92-79 on the road Wednesday night, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the details of Boston's players-only meeting. Wojnarowski said the meeting "was emotional at times, but in the end, perhaps, not a terribly productive meeting and maybe not even beneficial."
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka was asked about the meeting after Wednesday's victory, and he said the team already had a dinner set up well before Monday's loss, and that the players had some time, around 30 minutes, to talk before the coaches and the rest of the staff joined.
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Celtics-Magic takeaways: Great defense propels C's to much-needed win
Brown addressed Smart's comments and the meeting for the first time following the win against the Magic.
"Obviously, in the midst of trying to win games, it's something that we probably didn't need. But we all communicate and talk to each other, so we're trying to find ways to win," Brown said. "I'm open to anything and everything when guys bring it to me, coaching staff. I'm always watching film and trying to be a better basketball player and find ways to make my teammates better. It felt good to get a win today."
Brown added: "The last two days we've just been focused on Orlando. The goal was to come out and try to get a win. That was it. The team meeting -- just an opportunity to talk as a group and get some communication going and move forward. At the end of the day, we've been playing together for a long time, all of us, especially our core group. When it comes down to it, it's all about finding ways to win, and that's what most of the conversation was about."
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Brown led the way offensively for the Celtics with 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting versus the Magic.
The Celtics will be back in action Thursday night as they continue their road trip against the Miami Heat, who own the Eastern Conference's best record at 6-1.
