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BOSTON — Jaylen Brown is always looking to impose his physical will on the other team right from tipoff. That’s part of his role as a captain. While the C’s employ talented shooters up and down the roster, Brown feels part of his responsibility is to get to the paint and challenge the opposition.
But with his recent lingering right knee injury, Brown admitted Game 1 of the playoffs was different. He watched the action early, feeling out what he could and couldn’t do on the postseason stage. That’s a natural step considering he battled a bone bruise in his right knee for the past several weeks, limiting his explosiveness and athleticism.
That all changed in Game 2 against the Magic. The headline was how Jayson Tatum missed his first-ever playoff game due to his own bone bruise in his right wrist. But no matter — Brown was there to pick up the scoring slack. He was excellent as the Celtics dispatched the Magic in Game 2, scoring a game-high 36 points. He reminded everyone in the building why he was last year’s NBA Finals MVP. His fast start, too, was vital as he looked every bit his All-Star self at the Garden. He made his first 3-pointer of the night then he was off from there.
“It was a physical game all night long,” Brown said. “So for me, just getting my jumper going, I think that kind of opened some stuff up and just playing a game. That’s it. Getting to my spots. If you come down to it, it was just making plays for my team. It wasn’t too many Xs-and-Os, it just came down to making plays.”
Brown was effective all night, shooting 12-for-19 from the field and 5-of-7 on his 3-pointers. He admitted he got lucky because he made some tough shots, but there’s no apologizing for tough shot-making in the playoffs. The C’s needed all of Brown’s production, too, as they grinded through another tough physical game against a Magic squad more than happy to muck it up.
There were shades of Brown at his best all night. Sure, he made jumpers, but there was also the thunderous dunk midway through the third quarter. After stealing the ball from Cory Joseph, Brown marched down the floor to dunk it one-handed. Perhaps he didn’t get as high as normal, but the message was clear that he’s still got some bounce.
“It’s just faith, consistency, hard work pays off,” Brown said. “It’s something I live by since the beginning. I think in my first interview with Boston, I said I was going to go to war for this city, and I don’t think nothing has changed. So whatever it takes, every single night. You get out there and you hope for the best.”
It’s unclear what Tatum’s status will be going forward. He was doubtful heading into Game 2 before being downgraded to out. Fortunately, the Celtics have played through these kinds of situations through the regular season, getting valuable reps as a team even when some of their star players are out.
So, it falls on Brown and the rest of the roster to keep winning games while Tatum rests up his bone bruise. Brown sent the reminder Wednesday there’s a reason he’s the other half of the Celtics’ All-Star duo. All those playoff games that Tatum suited up in without missing, Brown was also there going through those growing pains and learned lessons. This is his team, too, and he showed every bit of that throughout Game 2 to put the Celtics up 2-0 on the Magic.
“He’s been great, consistent throughout the season and towards the end of the season, obviously work through him, but you just trust the mindset and really the warrior mentality that he has,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He knows his mind, he knows his body, and he can take it to another level mentally and physically. And tonight, he did that for the team on both ends of the floor, especially to start that third quarter for us.”
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But with his recent lingering right knee injury, Brown admitted Game 1 of the playoffs was different. He watched the action early, feeling out what he could and couldn’t do on the postseason stage. That’s a natural step considering he battled a bone bruise in his right knee for the past several weeks, limiting his explosiveness and athleticism.
That all changed in Game 2 against the Magic. The headline was how Jayson Tatum missed his first-ever playoff game due to his own bone bruise in his right wrist. But no matter — Brown was there to pick up the scoring slack. He was excellent as the Celtics dispatched the Magic in Game 2, scoring a game-high 36 points. He reminded everyone in the building why he was last year’s NBA Finals MVP. His fast start, too, was vital as he looked every bit his All-Star self at the Garden. He made his first 3-pointer of the night then he was off from there.
“It was a physical game all night long,” Brown said. “So for me, just getting my jumper going, I think that kind of opened some stuff up and just playing a game. That’s it. Getting to my spots. If you come down to it, it was just making plays for my team. It wasn’t too many Xs-and-Os, it just came down to making plays.”
Brown was effective all night, shooting 12-for-19 from the field and 5-of-7 on his 3-pointers. He admitted he got lucky because he made some tough shots, but there’s no apologizing for tough shot-making in the playoffs. The C’s needed all of Brown’s production, too, as they grinded through another tough physical game against a Magic squad more than happy to muck it up.
There were shades of Brown at his best all night. Sure, he made jumpers, but there was also the thunderous dunk midway through the third quarter. After stealing the ball from Cory Joseph, Brown marched down the floor to dunk it one-handed. Perhaps he didn’t get as high as normal, but the message was clear that he’s still got some bounce.
“It’s just faith, consistency, hard work pays off,” Brown said. “It’s something I live by since the beginning. I think in my first interview with Boston, I said I was going to go to war for this city, and I don’t think nothing has changed. So whatever it takes, every single night. You get out there and you hope for the best.”
It’s unclear what Tatum’s status will be going forward. He was doubtful heading into Game 2 before being downgraded to out. Fortunately, the Celtics have played through these kinds of situations through the regular season, getting valuable reps as a team even when some of their star players are out.
So, it falls on Brown and the rest of the roster to keep winning games while Tatum rests up his bone bruise. Brown sent the reminder Wednesday there’s a reason he’s the other half of the Celtics’ All-Star duo. All those playoff games that Tatum suited up in without missing, Brown was also there going through those growing pains and learned lessons. This is his team, too, and he showed every bit of that throughout Game 2 to put the Celtics up 2-0 on the Magic.
“He’s been great, consistent throughout the season and towards the end of the season, obviously work through him, but you just trust the mindset and really the warrior mentality that he has,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He knows his mind, he knows his body, and he can take it to another level mentally and physically. And tonight, he did that for the team on both ends of the floor, especially to start that third quarter for us.”
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