Simone's Six: National media musguidance, physicality, and missed shots in Celtics-Nuggets

DENVER — Sometimes, the travel catches up. A week-long road trip on the West Coast right after the All-Star break. Three games in four nights to end it. And, the cherry on top, a road-road back-to-back, with the latter game taking place 5,280 feet above sea level.

The Denver Nuggets welcomed the Boston Celtics to Ball Arena with open arms. And then closed arms. And chest bumps. And shoves.

In what was a very physical game by both teams, what happened? How did the Celtics lose by 19? And how is the national media getting it wrong?

1. Physical defense

Denver didn’t give Boston any room to breathe. Whether it was in the pick-and-roll, in isolation, or any other situation, they did everything in their power to make the Celtics’ ball-handlers uncomfortable.

“They were physical, yeah. You have to give them credit,” Joe Mazzulla said post-game. “They were very physical at the point of attack. They were good switching up their matchups a little bit, but I thought they were just physical at the point of attack, and they defended us well.”

The pick-and-roll, in particular, got tough for the Celtics as the night went on. Derrick White did a good job of running the show, but Denver slowly upped its pressure against Boston’s top ball-handlers.

Jaylen Brown battled through a ton of physicality, too. After missing the Celtics’ Tuesday night game against the Phoenix Suns, he returned to action Wednesday and was met with a wall of Nuggets.

Look at Julian Strawther here. He’s grabbing Brown before the ball even gets to him. Trying to make life as hard as possible for the Celtics star. (And Cameron Johnson got into Baylor Scheierman’s space on the play, too.)

“I think they were physical. I don't think it was the most physical game we've ever had,” White said. “But we just kind of have to move the ball a little faster. If we move it quicker, then it's hard for them to be physical. So, I think we did a lot of good things. Just didn't go our way today.”

The Celtics’ offense never found a rhythm in this game, and the Nuggets’ physicality certainly played a role.

2. Missed shots

Though Denver’s defense was impressive, Boston also missed a ton of open looks. Brown and White created plenty of two-on-one opportunities, and the Celtics moved the ball well (in the first half especially), but the results didn’t match the process.

“I think we just had a tough time tonight converting,” Brown said. “I thought we got a lot of great looks, some open catch-and-shoots, and we just didn't convert. So, move on to the next. Tough night shooting the ball. The physicality was pretty good tonight, but I thought we just didn't convert on the offensive end. That kind of spilled over to the defense a little bit.”

Even when the Celtics were on the brink of a comeback, they fell short.

Because they couldn’t hit anything.

Anything.

There are other reasons the Celtics lost on Wednesday night. Plenty of them. But it certainly wasn’t their night shooting the ball. And sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.

3. The national media’s wrongdoing

ESPN plastered it all over social media after the game:

‘NIKOLA JOKIC IS UNGUARDABLE’

Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player on the planet. On any given night, he could explode for a 40-point triple-double.

On Wednesday night, he shot 11-of-28. Boston’s defense pigeon-holed him into taking a season-high 13 three-pointers. Jokic was not the issue.

If anything, the Celtics