Bruce Brown: Nets can attack Celtics bigs Al Horford and Daniel Theis

Bruce Brown helped the Nets win their play-in game.

He’s already ready for the Celtics in the first round.

Especially with Robert Williams injured and Daniel Theis now starting next to Al Horford inside for Boston.

Brown:

Now they don’t have Robert Williams, so they have less of a presence in the paint, and we could attack Al Horford and Theis. So, them not having Robert Williams is huge.

Following Brown to the podium, Durant asked the media what Brown said.

Durant:

He said something I didn’t like. Somebody just told me.

That’s caffeine pride talking. He takes some before the game. Them two dudes can do the same stuff. It ain’t going to be that easy, I tell you that.

We respect our opponents. We don’t need to talk about what we’re going to do to them. I just don’t like that. But that’s just how Bruce is. He comes in, and he says that. He keeps the same energy throughout the whole season, so. But we don’t need to say s*** like that. Let’s just go out there and hoop.

Both Brown and Durant are right. Without Williams – one of the NBA’s best defenders – Boston has a weaker paint presence. But Horford and Theis are still solid defenders. As Durant said, attacking the Celtics won’t be easy.

Durant has been through numerous deep playoff runs before. He knows there’s value in not providing bulletin-board material for opponents. Boston will take pride in proving Brown wrong.

But Brown’s youthful energy has value, too. Especially if his quote compels his teammates to step up and help him avoid looking foolish. Sometimes, naïve valor can be just what a team needs.

We’ll see which force proves more powerful.