Tag: Jaylen Brown

‘Fire and Ice’ catalyst for Boston Celtics’ chemistry-driven success

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have different games, but compliment each other in ways that help create the chemistry driving their unexpected success.

The Jay Team may be at the helm of the Boston Celtics’ recent success, but that doesn’t mean the two third-overall picks in consecutive NBA Drafts are interchangeable.

In fact, it’s the differences between wing Jaylen Brown and swingman Jayson Tatum that make the pair such a potent combination.

Brown’s nascent 3-point game and explosive bursts to the basket fueled by his unworldly athleticism are a natural pairing for Tatum’s smooth floaters and crafty game that allow him to score through the tiniest crease of a defense.

“I guess we feed off each other,” explained the Georgia native (via MassLive’s John Karalis) after dispatching the Denver Nuggets 108-95 Friday evening.

“Kind of different games, kind of opposite, but it makes sense, like Fire and Ice. We just try to come out and be aggressive,” added the fourth-year wing.

“Those guys are still getting better,” offered head coach Brad Stevens.

“They are really enjoying playing together and figuring it out with the rest of our team,” he continued, alluding to Boston’s unexpectedly strong record, and not just against bad teams.

In fact, through the blossoming of the duo and arrival of All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker, the team has exceeded expectations. And while the Connecticut product got the lion’s share of early praise, Tatum and Brown have evolved into players one cannot ignore.

“Those two guys in particular have done a really good job in this early part of the season, just focusing on making the right plays,” added Stevens.

“It feels good,” said Marcus Smart, Boston’s defensive Swiss Army knife. “I think everybody sees the steps that they’ve taken towards becoming better basketball players, and it shows.”

It seems like just yesterday, the narrative of whether Cal-Berkeley product Brown deserved the significant pay raise Boston granted him ahead of the start of the 2019-20 season was ubiquitous.

Those narratives, for all intents and purposes, have dried up like the Sahara Desert, and for good reason.

At the same time, Jayson Tatum’s emergence as a consistent scoring threat has allowed he and Walker to demand coverage enabling their recently-extended wing to thrive.

It’s hard not to get excited about seeing what the team can do once Gordon Hayward is back in uniform.

For now, in a season defined as much by chemistry as anything else, it seems fitting for the catalyst of greatness to come from the interplay of two elemental substances like fire and ice.

For Boston’s Jaylen Brown, faith, consistency, and hard work continues to pay off

To Jaylen Brown, faith, consistency, and hard work pays off isn’t just a mantra, but a road map for understanding the brilliant star’s path to success despite the obstacles he’s encountered.

Faith, Consistency, and Hard Work Pays Off.

So goes the maxim that fourth-year wing Jaylen Brown lives by, and has for some time, biding his time while never losing sight of long-term goals, even when the ride gets bumpy.

The 2018-19 was perhaps the greatest test of that maxim, with Brown struggling through tough relationships with teammates neck deep in their own personal interests derailing a greatly-anticipated season in historic fashion.

An early-season hand injury and relegation to a bench role coupled with the problematic internal situation Boston was beset with might have been too much for any third-year player poised to cash in on years of hard work. The worry was real for Brown, even if he didn’t let on much.

“Especially in the role I was in last year, I don’t feel like I got to display my talent,” he explained (via the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy). “I think I have the ability and the talent next to anybody else. But last year I didn’t get to display it, so I thought that was really going to hurt me and it came out, everything worked out in the end.”

The challenge of taming those very legitimate fears his earning potential could have been affected by things beyond his control overshadowed the coming contract season of 2019-20, particularly after dragging his team to the precipice of the NBA Finals just months earlier.

Jaylen, however, kept things close to the vest.

It was, after all, not the first time he had dealt with such issues. In his sole season at Cal-Berkeley, the Georgia native found himself locked into a system and style of play that not only did not showcase the team’s top prospect, but actively made it harder for Brown to shine.

The then-teen could have retreated into himself, or made waves — or even could have requested a transfer to some other school that would cater to his skillset.

The future No. 3 overall pick instead put his head down, and got to work.

If you’re noticing a pattern here, you’re not alone.

While still in high school, during a friendly game against Georgia Tech players he was invited to because of his budding basketball skills, a frustrated older opponent didn’t take kindly to being outshone by a highschooler, and responded in a way that could have changed the entire trajectory of the future Celtic’s life.

“One of the players pushed me because they were mad, because I was cooking him,” Brown said (courtesy of MassLive’s Tom Westerholm). “Like really, he pushed me out of the air.”

Marietta’s favorite son suffered a broken ankle as a result, losing four months at one of the most crucial junctures of his then-nascent basketball career.

In response, Jaylen hit the weight room, and the payoff was big.

“After those four months, he came back and he was pretty much a man amongst boys physically,” his trainer at the time, Desmond Eastmond, said. “I guess that’s when the switch really flipped. ‘You know what? I’m actually one of the best players in the country.'”

Fast-forward to last summer. After the disastrous 2018-19 season came to an end, Brown was right back in the gym, preparing for the next season before the dust had settled on the old one.

In fact, the very next day after Boston was eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks, team assistant coach Tony Dobbins got a text from the former Golden Bear requesting time in the team’s training facility to work on his game.

“We just finished the other day,” Dobbins says of his words to Brown. “You sure you don’t want to take a step away, take some time?”

The response was quick and unequivocal; “Nah. Let’s get it. Let’s get after it.”

Summer hadn’t even ended before the chatter about his contract year began, and while it was weighing on he young wing’s mind, his long-standing habit of leaning into his work when the going gets tough served him yet again.

It certainly helped he was hearing whispers he’d have significant — perhaps even max — offers waiting for him if he made it to free agency.

““I was hearing a lot of good stuff. And that was a possibility,” Brown offered about how inking his current extension took shape.

But the Georgian preferred to stay put, if possible, appreciative of what the franchise which gambled on him had going for it even in the face of the prior season’s tumult.

“Being in this market, playing for the Boston Celtics is not like playing for a lot of other teams, to be honest. Once it came down to something that made sense it was an easy decision, to be honest.”

Now, after vaulting himself into the conversation of being a fringe All-Star candidate behind a season average a single percentage point shy of 20 points and 7 boards per game respectively, those doubting voices have predictably fallen silent.

“I don’t look at [my new contract as an excuse to relax],” offered the Cal-Berkeley product earlier this season after signing his four-year, $115 million (including bonuses) extension, reports NBC Boston’s Chris Forsberg.

“I still got the same mentality, same approach, same preparation for the season. And I still got the same goals. So the load is still on until I get that job done, because that’s what it’s more about – getting a contract extension is great, but I’m playing to try to win and try to help this team as much as I can.

Those results are powering the Celtics through the season despite losing key players like All-NBA guard Kemba Walker, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Marcus Smart, and All-Star wing Gordon Hayward for stretches.

The shadow which once threatened to depress his earning potential is now providing cover for the young shooting guard to attack undetected, feasting from deep and at the rim with new skills developed over last summer while opponents continue to swarm teammates Jayson Tatum and Walker.

Will Brown make an All-Star team for the first time in his career? If history tells us anything about the team’s most cerebral player, it probably matters little, and definitely less than his impact on winning.

But then, that’s always been Jaylen’s mantra, and so far, it’s served him well.

Faith, Consistency, and Hard Work Pays Off indeed — and increasingly, not just for Brown.

Celtics off to their best home start since winning championship in 2008

There are plenty of parallels between the Boston Celtics championship team in 2008 and this iteration of the C’s.

With an 8-0 record at home to start the 2019-20 season, including wins over the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics now have their best record at home since 2007-08. A season notable because it ended in Boston hoisting up the Larry O’Brien trophy that summer after defeating Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

In 2007-08, however, the Celtics managed to start the season 12-0 at home. This season, Boston has just two-thirds of the wins that that team had, although the similarities extend far beyond the team records.

Like the 2008 champions, this season’s roster features a star player that was acquired over the summer and follows a theme of camaraderie that’s reminiscent of the Celtics’ championship team practicing the African philosophy of “Ubuntu.”

In the summer of 2007, Celtics president and general manager Danny Ainge had managed to acquire two stars, to be specific: Seattle SuperSonics sharpshooter Ray Allen and Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Kevin Garnett.

The trades allowed Boston to form the first modern-day Big Three, with Allen and Garnett flanking team captain Paul Pierce. As a result, the Celtics has a myriad of takeover scorers who were complemented by defensive-minded role players like Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Rajon Rondo (not that the Big Three couldn’t hold their own defensively).

But the secret to the team’s success was their chemistry; they were genuinely happy for one another’s success and played for each other on the court, akin to how soldiers will tell you they’re a band of brothers.

This summer, the Celtics only had to make one blockbuster trade, which netted them former Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker.

However, they have flanked the quartet of Walker, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown with defensive-minded role players like they did in 2007. This time, with players like Grant Williams, Daniel Theis, Robert Williams III, Semi Ojeleye and Marcus Smart.

Further, like Boston’s last championship team, this iteration of the Celtics practice an altruism and have formed a camaraderie that fits well with the “Ubuntu” philosophy of interdependence. The team realizes that it’s only as strong as the sum of its part and recognizes the importance of every player, which can’t be said of Boston’s mindset last season.

That said, a strong start at home (or altogether) and improved chemistry won’t be why Boston wins a championship. Certainly, they’ll likely benefit from homecourt advantage in the playoffs and teams who make deep runs in the postseason are indeed those with the best chemistry but constant improvement will be the key to their ultimate success. Both as a team and individuals.

Tatum is arguably the most talented player on the team but has to overcome his slow starts. The Celtics need more from their bench and to shake up their defense. Everyone hopes that Brown and Hayward can keep up the it strong play.

But those concerns are far less of a hindrance to their potential than the issues they faced last season. From a fractured locker room to Hayward and Brown’s struggles to start the season to their inability to play well consistently enough.

That said, their 8-0 start at TD Garden is symbolic even if it’s not predictive. This isn’t only what’s arguably the most talented team Boston has had since 2007-08 but arguably their most unified group since then as well (the Celtics under Isaiah Thomas were pretty close-knit).

What it all means at the end of the season anybody’s guess but at this point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Boston emerge from the East as NBA Finals contenders.

Celtics easily defeat Heat behind Jaylen Brown’s season-high 31 points

Behind a season-high 31 points from Boston fourth-year wing Jaylen Brown, the Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 112-93 despite 37 points from veteran Miami forward Jimmy Butler.

Behind fourth-year wing Jaylen Brown’s season-high of 31 points, the Boston Celtics snapped a three-game Miami Heat win streak with a 112-93 victory.

Aided by All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker’s 28-point, 7 rebound performance and swingman Jayson Tatum’s 19 points and 5 boards, Boston pulled away in the second half after a close first two frames and never looked back.

Despite another season-high from opponent Jimmy Butler, who logged 37 points and 6 boards on the evening, Miami dropped the contest even though they led by as many as 11 in the first half.

Only former Celtic center Kelly Olynyk, forward Duncan Robinson, and Justice Winslow managed to get in double-figure scoring for the Heat with 12, 10 and 10 points each, respectively.

A major factor in the win was the due to the fact the Celtics managed to get to the charity stripe 32 times to Miami’s 17, the latter converting on just 64.7 % compared to Boston’s 81.4 %. Brown shooting 10-of-20 from the floor and 55.5 % from deep certainly didn’t hurt, either.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra was a notable scratch for the contest, missing the game to be present for the birth of a child, with assistant coach Dan Craig taking the helm for the night.

Boston’s defensive specialist, guard Marcus Smart, also missed the contest, recuperating from a blow to his obliques and an undisclosed illness.

The Celtics next face the Denver Nuggets at home on Friday, Dec. 6 at 8pm ET.

Jayson Tatum stellar as Celtics complete comeback to defeat Knicks, 113-104

Thanks to Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics are 14-5 after taking down the New York Knicks in a tightly-contested battle.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum had what may have been his best performance of the season as he tallied 30 points (on 10-23 shooting from the field), six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks on his way to leading the Celtics to a double-digit win over the New York Knicks.

Knocking down timely 3-balls, of which he was 5-11 for the night, Tatum’s output was nearly matched by wing Jaylen Brown’s 28 points (on 11-18 shooting from the field), five rebound, one steal and one assist.

Boston, however, trailed for most of the second half despite the contributions of the Jays.

In large part because New York native Kemba Walker struggled from the field for the second straight game, scoring 16 points on 33% from the field and three, continuing a pattern of poor shooting against longer teams.

Fortunately for Boston they were able to outscore the Knicks, who have been playing a bevy of big men, by 21 points outside the arc. That seems to have been the difference for the two teams, as New York got a strong performance from both Julius Randle and Dennis Smith Jr. (43 combined points), who continued to test the Celtics’ interior defense.

Boston is now 14-5.

Kyrie Irving, Nets react to chants from Celtics fans

On Wednesday, Celtics fans were loud and clear about their feelings toward Kyrie Irving. He and his teammates weighed in on what happened.

Even though Kyrie Irving didn’t make the trip to Boston with the Nets, the point guard was still a the forefront of the discussion surrounding the game.

Well before tipoff, signs with Irving’s face and the word “coward” were posted outside TD Garden. Throughout the night, Celtics fans chanted “Kyrie sucks” and “Where is Ky-rie?”

It was impossible to ignore.

After the game, players on both sides were asked about the matter.

Believe it or not, Jarrett Allen expected worse:

I give Celtics fans a big up about it: They’re passionate fans. They were yelling it the whole game. … It could’ve been the whole game booing us every time we touched the ball. If Kyrie was here, it probably would’ve been 10 times worse. But they were giving it to us.

Dinwiddie was more confused about the fact Boston fans chanted without Irving even being present:

I had no preconceived notions. Whatever they had to say, he heard it through the TV I am sure, but … he’s not even here.

Kenny Atkinson kept his answer on the matter simple:

Don’t give it a second thought. Just tune it out.

Over on the other side, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens praised Irving before the game.

Celtics point guard Kemba Walker didn’t get caught up in the anti-Kyrie chants:

I don’t really pay attention to the Kyrie stuff. That’s just the fans and how they feel. That’s not something I’m really paying close attention to.

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown encouraged his team’s fan base to move on:

I think everything worked out for the better for everybody. I don’t think anybody in Boston should have anything to complain or boo about, to be honest. I think we’re winning, playing good basketball, the Celtics look good, Boston fans should be nothing but happy. I think the energy should shift from that to being more positive.

Irving handled the matter a little differently. He took to Instagram to let everyone know exactly how he felt about the way everything went:

Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum not fond of anti-Kyrie chants

Boston Celtics wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown discuss the Celtics fans contempt for Kyrie Irving.

When a chorus of “Kyrie sucks” broke out among the Boston Celtics crowd, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was confused, considering that Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving was out for the game with a shoulder impingement.

“We all know Kyrie doesn’t suck,” he quipped after the game.

Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown characterized the anti-Kyrie chants, which began before the game even started, as “interesting but probably unfair.”

In fact, Brown took a deep dive at the crux of the anti-Kyrie sentiment, pointing the finger of blame at the media for overblowing the situation and mischaracterizing last season’s issues:

“I think the media has made it much bigger than what it actually is… It almost makes like you’re opposed, like one turns against one another… I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”

Continuing his spiel, the polymath would implore the fans to focus on the positives, like the success and lightened atmosphere of this season’s team versus last year.

“I think everything worked out for the better for everybody,” says Brown (h/t The Athletic’s Clevis Murray). “I don’t think anybody in Boston should have anything to complain or boo about, to be honest. We’re winning, we’re playing good basketball, the Celtics look good.”

“Boston fans should be nothing but happy,” Brown suggests. “The energy should shift from that to more positive.”

Whether Celtics heed Brown’s advice or not, it’s clear that not only are some of Irving’s more prominent former teammates set against dragging Irving’s through the mud — even the ones you may not expect — but that they’re far more invested in what could transpire this season than what did happen last year.

They want their fans to have that same focus as well.

Irving had a rough season last year, particularly off-the-court and has readily admitted he fails as a leader last season. He deserves the ire of the fan base for his petulance and perhaps even his decision to back away from a commitment to re-sign in Boston and given the zealous nature of fandom, the Celtics boos may come raining down Kyrie for years.

Nonetheless, Boston has a new beau and rather than focusing on their old flame, fans would probably find more enjoyment in cheering on their new arrivals and applauding the growth of their holdovers.

Wednesday’s matchup against the Nets was cathartic for fans but now, it may be time to turn the page as the Celtics embark on a new chapter: the Kemba Walker Era.

Kemba Walker has scintillating performance as Celtics defeat Nets, 121-110

Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker was the star of the show when the Brooklyn Nets came to town on a night when all the storylines were about the team’s former floor general.

With a season-high 39 points on the night, including 18 from trey-balls, Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker delivered the team’s most sensational performance on a night when they needed every bit of his offensive prowess.

Walker used screen after screen to get open from deep, knocking in a series of treys in the second and third quarter to keep Boston in the game despite Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and center Jarrett Allen taking advantage of the Celtics’ iffy interior defense.

Dinwiddie and Allen would finish Wednesday’s game with a combined 33 points.

The performance, which comes days after Walker injured his neck in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, earned the star guard much-appreciated MVP chants at the end of the game.

One that was electrified by Celtics fans’ disdain for Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, even though (and also because) the six-time All-Star never set foot on the court.

While Walker was the star of the game, Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown had yet another strong performance, taking the ball to the rack consistently on his way to a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.

He also recorded three steals and a block though he couldn’t contain Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris, who finished the game with 21 points while shooting 5-9 from three.

Like Harris, Nets guard Garrett Temple also lit Boston up from beyond the arc, scoring 22 points while going 6-12 from three.

The Nets played Boston tough despite missing Irving and it took a strong fourth quarter start for the Celtics to extend the lead to the point it became insurmountable.

Ultimately, it wasn’t an encouraging win — especially with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum continuing to struggle from the field (5-17) — but there were positives to draw from the victory, like Walker having his best game of the season and looking as if he’s perfectly healthy after having a scary injury last week.

 

Jaylen Brown looking forward to next matchup against Kyrie Irving

If anyone was bothered by Kyrie Irving last season, it was Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown

Not to say that it came as a surprise to anyone but if you didn’t already know, recently departed Kyrie Irving — who left the Boston Celtics after proclaiming his desire to re-sign with the team prior to the season — won’t be suiting up for the Nets when they travel to Boston to face a team now led by Kemba Walker.

Actually, Irving won’t even be traveling with the team, so Celtics fans wouldn’t even be able to berate him with the boos they’ve kept welled up inside since his decision to team up with injured All-Star Kevin Durant in Brooklyn.

That’s good for Irving and it takes away what would have been a distraction from the actual game but still, there’s no doubt that fans worldwide — whether they’re fans of Boston’s illustrious franchise or not — wanted to see Irving return to the arena housing a locker room full of players that he seemed to rub the wrong way with an abrasive and detached attitude last season.

Just as he had rubbed the Celtics fans the wrong way with his fickleness and paltry performance in the postseason and how he rubbed the Celtics media wrong with his combativeness during pressers.

If anyone was bothered by Irving’s antics last season, it was Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, who has inexplicably thrived in the All-Star guards absence. As they’ve added another All-Star to replace him, Gordon Hayward has resembled his All-Star self and they’ve added a score-first guard to replace balanced backup Terry Rozier, it goes against logic that Brown could have more opportunity and a greater impact this season but he has.

Part of it is simply Brown improving as a ball-handled and the game slowing down for him, making him more effective as a slasher. However, he’s playing more free and confident than he was last year, which is in part due to there being a question of how to mesh Irving and Hayward’s return with the rise of Brown, Rozier and Jayson Tatum but also in part due to the atmosphere that surrounds the team.

One that’s much lighter. More jovial. More conducive to bonding and team chemistry.

Comparing Walker’s good-natured persona and humility to Irving’s enigmatic character and bravado, one could see how the team’s new floor general is better equipped to lead a young team whose confidence and mood will be effected by the messages and emotional state of their leader.

Still, the two seemed to develop an interesting connection — one you might even consider a friendship — before their relationship deteriorated in front of everyone’s eyes in the second season as teammates. That said, Brown’s thoughts on Irving are particularly intriguing, which is why he was asked his thoughts about Irving missing their upcoming game.

Appearing to not know before being asked, Brown is nonchalant in his answer, saying “Oh well. We’ll catch him next time then” (per MassLive’s Tom Westerholm).

Expounding upon that statement, Brown says:

“Obviously he’s a great player for them and makes their team better, despite what they probably say. But it would’ve been nice, it would’ve been great to compete against a former teammate. Those are always fun.”

It’s difficult to mine any deep meaning from Brown’s statement other than he’s clearly moved on from last season’s chaos and that he’s genuinely looking forward to playing against his former teammate.

Whether that’s because he wants to try and make a statement with Irving on the floor, get a chance to be physical with him on the court or because he just likes the way those games can provide an emotional charge is unknown.

Maybe he’s even looking forward to burying the hatchet and chatting with his former pal. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in the league.

What is known though is that when the Nets come to town, Boston will be ready and hope to make a point against Irving’s team whether he’s on the floor or not.

There’s no better way to prove that a former teammate picked the lesser team than by outplaying them.

Feisty Celtics survive 41 points from white-hot Hield, win 103-102

The Boston Celtics survived the Buddy Hield show thanks to Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart.

Although they couldn’t seem to contain Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield, who unleashed canned a career-high 11 threes against the Boston Celtics en route to a 41-point night, the Celtics would trade baskets with the Kings for much of the game and lean on strong performances from Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart to pull out a narrow win (103-102) over their Western Conference foes.

The trio scored 61 of the team’s points, good for 59.2% of the total, with each continuing to do the things that had made them successful on offense to this point in the season.

With Brown attacking the rim and using his explosiveness to his advantage, Tatum showing off his combination of footwork and shooting touch and Smart finding the mark with a series of runners and floaters, Boston was able to keep up with Sacramento’s Bohemian baller.

However, it still took two clutch shots from Smart at the end of the game — and a defensive play by Robert Williams III on the final possession — for the Celtics to secure the win while shorthanded.

With star guard Kemba Walker sidelined with a neck sprain and starting center Daniel Theis out with an illness, Smart would start at point guard and make a number of plays as a scorer and facilitator on his way to 17 points (on 7-12 shooting) and seven assists.

Kanter, though unable to defend on the perimeter as well as Theis and contributing to the reason Hield was able to be open on a couple of plays, bullied Kings center in the post on his way to 13 points (and nine rebounds).

As exciting of a game as it was for Celtics fans, the most riveting experience was the NBA debut of rookie point guard Tremont Waters. Seemingly already beloved by the locker room, community and Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, Waters had a rough night shooting the ball but consistently showed off his basketball IQ.

Waters — whom Brown has nicknamed “Young Oldhead” to highlight his on-court savvy, finished the night with seven points (on 2-7 shooting from the field), three assists, one steal, two blocks and two turnovers in 19 minutes.

The Celtics may have Walker back for their next game, as the guard could have potentially played against the Kings had Boston not wanted to take precaution.

However, the team that they’ll be facing — the Brooklyn Nets — will be missing a familiar face in star guard Kyrie Irving, which makes the game easier to win but nullifies some of the emotional energy that would surround it.