Jaylen Brown had been a model of consistency in the playoffs. That was until Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
In the sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, Brown made nine field goals and scored at least 20 points in all four games, but his performance dropped off in Game 1 against the Bucks.
Brown netted only 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting, including a 3-for-9 showing from 3-point range, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Brown routinely coughed up the ball as well, committing an eye-popping seven turnovers and finished -12 in plus-minus — the worst rating for any of the Boston Celtics starters.
Despite Brown’s struggles, his running mate in Jayson Tatum isn’t sweating things when it comes to Brown.
“I mean, (expletive), we all had a rough night,” Tatum said, per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss. “Nobody should hang their heads down. We in this together, right? All that matters is if you win or lose. I got all the faith in the world in JB.”
Tatum’s not wrong, the Celtics offense as a whole couldn’t figure out a way to convert shots from inside the arc. Boston finished 10-for-24 (29.4 percent) on 2-point attempts and turned the ball over 18 times with the Bucks scoring 27 points off the miscues.
While it’s not time to push the panic button when it comes to Brown, who dealt with a hamstring injury in the lead-up to the contest but said it “held up good” during the game, his offensive play hasn’t been at its best in the playoffs, specifically his long-range shooting.
Brown is shooting 25 percent from beyond the arc in five postseason games, and that will need to improve dramatically if the Celtics look to overcome their 1-0 series deficit.
