Jaylen Brown Challenged Himself In This Area; It’d Greatly Help Celtics

The Boston Celtics are going to look different on the defensive end. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Especially if their stars are willing to step up on that end of the floor.

“I want to make sure that’s where we hang our hats this year, and that starts with me, that starts with Jayson (Tatum),” Jaylen Brown said this offseason after he signed his supermax extension and the Celtics traded Marcus Smart.

“With Marcus gone, we don’t want our defensive identity to go out the door as well, so we have to really emphasize that at the start of training camp.”

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla expressed how he has to do better stressing the importance of defense. But Brown knows Mazzulla can’t be be the only one doing it, so he’s going to, too.

“I think that at different points of my career, I’ve been able to display my defensive ability, but not enough,” Brown said during Celtics media day at the Auerbach Center.

“I think that when I’m dialed in and I make sure that I’m challenging myself, I think I can be one of the better defenders in the world, and that’s something I’m challenging myself with. Meet more guys at the rim, make more plays, have more of a presence defensively. (That’s) something that I’m looking to do.”

Brown challenging himself to be more consistent on that end would come as a major help for the Green. The Celtics’ defense was 3.7 points per 100 possessions better when Brown was not on the court last season, as shared by the Boston Globe.

As Brown said himself, Boston’s defensive leader no longer is with the team. But Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, isn’t the only one. High-flying rim protector Robert Williams, versatile and strong-bodied Grant Williams as well as Malcolm Brogdon no longer are in Boston either.

Without them, the defense is not going to look the same as years past. But different doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Before the Celtics acquired five-time All-Defense honoree Jrue Holiday, many believed Mazzulla’s team shifted its focus from defense to offense — an offense headlined by 3-point shooting, to be specific. The feeling was rooted in the fact Boston’s versatility on defense was gone. Instead, Kristaps Porzingis, who first and foremost brings size with shooting, was acquired. And then Holiday’s arrival elevated the defensive expectations back to where they had been previously.

Holiday and Derrick White, who also earned All-Defense recognition last season, figure to make up one of the best backcourt defenses in the NBA. And at 7-foot-3 — and all of 7-foot-3, as Al Horford joked — Porzingis has the ability to protect the rim as well as anyone.

Should Brown and Tatum commit to consistency on that end, there’s no reason why Boston can’t have one of the best defenses in the NBA — again. They would go a very long way.

Brown initially revealed his commitment after Smart was traded, but before Holiday was acquired. It’s good he continues to stress its importance. And he’s showed it before, too. The All-NBA honoree had an increased defensive presence when the Celtics needed someone to stop James Harden in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Brown aced that test en route to a series win.

Brown proved he has what it takes, as long as he challenges himself to do. Doing so consistently would be a great development for the Celtics.