It was supposed to be easy, a “gimme game” that would allow Jaylen Brown to flourish in a role as the team's primary option on offense and a night where Payton Pritchard and Romeo Langford could display their credentials as viable rotation pieces moving forward.
And it was all supposed to happen against a Minnesota Timberwolves team that had been decimated by COVID and had almost none of their usual rotation available to play. Instead, the Boston Celtics found themselves operating with a timid Jaylen Brown, a shell-shocked Langford, and an exhausted Pritchard. Things got ugly real fast.