Jaylen Brown Praises Celtics Defense After Huge Performance vs. Kings

"We wanted to start the game off right with a statement."

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics may have struggled out of the gate defensively this season, but they certainly have turned things around. 

Although the Celtics have been dominant to open the 2022-23 NBA season, the biggest reason for their success has been their high-powered offense. Boston boasted the best defense in the league last season so many expected that success to carry over, but the offense has taken a major jump and the defense has lagged without Robert Williams manning the center. 

Boston has made due, and after taking down the upstart Sacramento Kings on Friday night, it holds the best record in the NBA at 15-4, but it could be even better. The Celtics have made strides defensively this season and certainly look much different than they did in the first weeks of the campaign, and it showed Friday with likely their finest performance. 

The Celtics have the best offense in the league and are averaging an eye-popping 119.8 points per game this season. Sacramento surprisingly isn't far behind and is averaging 119.1 points per game. Boston knew about Sacramento's firepower heading into Friday's contest and stepped up on defense holding the Kings to their lowest point total of the season in the squad's 122-104 win. 

Young Celtics star Jaylen Brown opened up about the team's defensive performance after the win. 

"We know that they want to come in and be an offensive powerhouse," Brown said as seen on NBC Sports Boston. "They're one of the better-scoring teams in the league. We wanted to start the game off right with a statement and keep them under 25 (in the first quarter) and that's what we did. We had some lulls throughout the game, but we seemed to pick it up and keep them under 110, which helped us get the win tonight." 

The Celtics will look to build off of the momentum of their impressive defensive performance when they take on the Washington Wizards on Sunday night at TD Garden with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

Further Reading

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Win vs. Kings: Boston Stifles NBA's Top-Scoring Offense

The Top 5 Plays from Wednesday's Celtics-Mavericks Game

Here's When Robert Williams Reportedly will Return to Celtics Lineup

Celtics Fans will Absolutely Love What Jayson Tatum Said About Playing in Boston

Mavericks' Luka Doncic has Extremely High Praise for Celtics Star Duo

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