Jaylen Brown: Celtics changed little from Game 4, ‘locked in’ for win

If it isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix it, and despite recent shooting woes on both ends of the ball, the Boston Celtics continue to have the Toronto Raptors’ number.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Sager words have rarely been uttered in this world, and in Game 5 of the Boston Celtics series against the Toronto Raptors in the 2020 East Semifinals, it held especially true.

Cold-shooting nights and miracle shots aside, the only thing Boston really did differently was put more of an emphasis on the same approach they’ve been using on both ends of the floor.

“Just stay focused, stay locked in, execute the game plan. Come out and play hard, play tough, do our job,” explained fourth-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown on how the Celtics changed their approach for the win after the game.

“Hold each other accountable, and that’s all that matters,” he added.

“No different than any other night, to be honest. You’re ready for a playoff game to play basketball, sometimes simplifying things, making it easy. Less is more is the emphasis. But, no different than any other day I go to sleep and wake up.”

It was if people had a hard time believing it, despite watching it with their own eyes, Brown getting multiple versions of the same question, only to offer up a slightly different version of the same answer.

“I didn’t change anything from the last couple games to now,” he reiterated. “I didn’t change anything, really.”

“Went to sleep, watched film, talked to Tony [Dobbins, the video coordinator], talked to Brad [Stevens]. Nothing really different. It’s time to play. Just being aggressive, that’s it.”

“I guess you could say that’s just what I do,” added the Georgia native, his trademark swagger back after the victory.

And that’s really been the key to Boston’s success this season — embracing head coach Brad Stevens “kaizen” perspective while playing together and not straying far from the plan, if at all.

I didn’t change anything just because [of] good games, bad games, ups, downs — that’s life,” explained Brown. “It’s what happens.”

“Last game I felt like I got some good looks, they didn’t go down. This game, I got some good looks, they went down. The same mindset was to keep shooting if I’m open, don’t hesitate. I believe in myself, I think my coaching staff and organization believes in me. So we’ve just got to keep going. I didn’t change anything, really. The emphasis I was saying — less is more — just keep making the simple plays, hit singles, and that paid off.”

“But the mindset was the same,” he added.

Based on the results we have been seeing, no complaints here.

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