Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Highlights Underrated Part Of Jaylen Brown’s Game
Brown's an ideal teammate
The Boston Celtics’ 129-119 road win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday showed why Jaylen Brown is an NBA Finals MVP and a championship-caliber player.
Coming off nine straight games with at least 30 points, Brown needed just one more 30-point game to set the Celtics’ record. Instead, he settled for 23 points and racked up 10 assists — his second-highest total of the season.
Rather than pursue individual stats and records, Brown did what was best for the team, feeding Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and others. He could have started playing hero ball when Boston fell behind early due to some poor shooting, but he kept trusting his teammates and making the right plays.
It was a fitting end to his streak, which began after he dished out 11 assists in a two-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to close out November.
After Tuesday’s comeback victory, Joe Mazzulla praised Brown for knowing when to look for his own shot versus setting up his teammates.
“One of the things he does great is pick his spots on when to truly impact the game, and then when to either be a facilitator or a playmaker or empower the people around him,” Mazzulla said during his postgame press conference. “I think it’s kind of underrated as to what he does there.”
That’s been key for Brown this year, who’s had to lead the Celtics for the first extended stretch of his career with Jayson Tatum sidelined. He’s handled the transition seamlessly, averaging personal bests in both points and assists while emerging as a legitimate MVP candidate.
Brown will look to keep it up when Boston continues its road trip on Thursday against the sputtering Sacramento Kings, who rank bottom five in both defensive rating and opponent points per game.
