Jaylen Brown has always believed in his defensive abilities but felt the need for personal challenges to bring out his best.
“At different points of my career, I’ve been able to display my defensive ability, but not enough,” Brown said back in October. “I think when I’m dialed in and make sure I’m challenging myself, I think I can be one of the better defenders in the world.”
Despite the NBA’s inclination towards scoring, Brown, widely recognized for his ferocious dunks and elite scoring ability, has shifted his primary focus to the defensive end. The All-NBA wing keeps his teammates locked in on defense, ensuring that his defensive contributions get the acknowledgment they merit.
“We kind of glorify guys who can play one side of the ball, but we don’t really pay respect to people who guard, play defense, get deflections and steals, and change the game in that area,” Brown said following Monday night’s win over the Mavericks. “We glorify the people that can score because that’s what the NBA has marketed. But basketball is both sides.”
Monday night was one of Brown’s most impressive defensive performances of the season. The 27-year-old drew the assignment of Luka Doncic, who is averaging 33.6 points per game this season, second most in the NBA – and held him to just five points on 2-of-6 (33.3%) shooting. Brown also had a block on Doncic.
“I’ve been doing it all season. I’ve been guarding the best players on pretty much every single team night in and night out,” Brown said postgame when discussing the matchup with Doncic. “Earlier in the season, I would ask for those matchups. Now, it’s just kind of normalized.”
While Monday night may have been one of his more recognized defensive efforts, Brown has been a monster on the defensive end all season, undoubtedly playing the best defense of his career.
We’ll start with the simple metrics. Brown’s 45 steals this season lead the Celtics. To go along with his 45 steals, Brown also has 26 blocks. Brown is averaging a steal a game for the fifth consecutive season and the sixth in his eight-year career.
The advanced metrics are even more impressive for the two-time All-Star. As noted by NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, Brown led the NBA in defensive field goal percentage among players defending 10 or attempts per game entering Monday night.
After Monday night, that number trickled up just a hair to 41.7%, trailing only Kevin Durant at 41.1%. For what it’s worth, Durant has finished in the top 10 of Defensive Player of The Year voting three times in his career, yet has never been selected to an All-Defensive Team.
Brown is limiting his opponents to an output of 5.6% below their expected level; among players defending 10 attempts per game, that ranks 10th best. Brown and Durant are the only non-bigs amidst that group.
More impressively, Brown is defending all 4,700 square feet of the court. Looking at the chart below, his percentage points difference is negative in all areas of the court – meaning his opponents are shooting below their expected output.
According to Pro Basketball Reference, Brown ranks 13th in defensive win shares at 2.0. Sure, being on a team as talented as the Celtics, who are beating opponents by an average of 9.7 points per game, certainly inflates that number. Nevertheless, he’s part of a select group of 15 players with a defensive win share of 2.0 or higher. Derrick White and Jayson Tatum are also in that category.
Despite these elite defensive numbers, Brown might face an uphill battle to secure a spot on the All-Defensive team. However, his contributions haven’t gone unnoticed locally, as he has been a driving force behind Boston’s impressive 110.3 defensive rating, ranking second-best in the NBA.
Back in late July, during a press conference following his super-max extension, Brown highlighted his desire for the team to “Hang their hats” on the defensive side of the ball. He emphasized that the effort would begin with him and Tatum, aiming to return to the defense-first mindset that propelled them to the NBA Finals in 2022.
It’s fair to say Brown has held up his end of the bargain.
Terry Rozier to Miami
Naturally, there was probably a sense of anxiousness that settled around Celtics fans when the Miami Heat acquired former fan favorite Terry Rozier in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a future first-round pick.
Given Lowry removed the Heat from his social media bios and began unfollowing teammates this week, there was some indication a trade was coming.
For a Miami Heat team averaging the fourth-fewest points in the league at 110.9, the addition of Rozier, who is averaging a career-high 23.2 points per game on 45.9% shooting and 6.6 assists (also a career-high), is a nice boost to their roster.
In addition, the 29-year-old guard is an excellent rebound for the Heat, who missed out on the Damian Lillard sweepstakes in the offseason. Rozier will be a long-term piece of their roster, considering he still has three years left on his deal, including this season, earning an average of $25 million per season.
While the addition of Rozier undoubtedly makes the Heat a better team, it would be precipitous to assume Boston vs. Miami round four in the Eastern Conference Finals. There is far too much talent in the East between Philadelphia, Milwaukee, New York, and even Indiana to make that conclusion.
The strange situation in Milwaukee
What a roller coaster of a day in Milwaukee Tuesday was.
By the time most folks were getting ready for bed Tuesday night, CNN, in the middle of a primary election, broke the news that the Milwaukee Bucks were hiring Doc Rivers to be their next head coach.
Even Jamal Crawford was taken aback.
Firing Adrian Griffin after just 43 games despite having the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 30-13 may seem unhinged. However, there were some red flags.
Taking over a team that clearly has some dysfunction in the middle of the season is no easy task for Rivers, especially considering Milwaukee’s championship aspirations.
Considering the team sitting in second place in the East, what exactly would qualify as Rivers “Doing his job?” It feels like a lose-lose situation for Rivers, who has already had his fair share of struggles in the postseason.
Regarding the Celtics, the hiring of Rivers will keep Jeff Van Gundy in his role as a Senior Consultant with Boston. According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Van Gundy was on the Bucks’ “short list” of head coach candidates.
That is if ESPN doesn’t try to lure Van Gundy back to their broadcast as an analyst alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke, with the seat now open after Rivers’ departure. Before taking his consultant role with the Celtics, Van Gundy spent the last 16 years in the broadcast booth with ESPN before being let go earlier this year as part of company-wide layoffs.
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