Mere seconds into game one, Jaylen Brown wanted to set the tone for the Celtics’ first-round series against the Hawks, and hopefully the rest of what Boston believes will be a long playoff run. Right after the rim, the Browns stole a routine pass from Trae Young to Dejounte Murray and then beat John Collins on the other end.
“I was going crazy in my head. I was screaming like, ‘There you go. Marcus Smart said of Bian Brown’s play. “Jaylen can do a lot of things, not just score the ball. He’s a great two-way player and we’ll need that from him. And to see how he locked up and ready to go was exciting.”
He’s still wearing a mask after a friendly fire elbow from Jason Tatum over two months ago, but just as tough as he’s been for the past two months, maybe he’s here to stay. Brown finished as Boston’s leading scorer with 29 points (12-of-23 from the field) and three assists.
After missing the last two games of the regular season due to a torn floor, he picked up where he left off. After leading the LeBron team in scoring in the All-Star Game, Brown led the All-NBA campaign in their last 20 games, averaging 27 points and over six rebounds and four assists a game.
Brown admitted after the Game 1 win that his finger was still an issue. “It’s a constant adjustment to make sure I have a firm grip on the ball,” Brown said. “I had six spins tonight, so I definitely had to clean that up.” During the game, he left for the locker room briefly when the split opened up. He received five stitches on the finger and missed practice during early postseason prep.
“He was trying to figure out how to play with it in the beginning. I think he had to change his rifle,” said coach Joe Mazzola. “I thought he played well. I thought his shot selection was good. I thought it was intentional on the defensive end. I thought he did a great job when he was cooped up on both ends of the floor.”
It’s been 303 days since the Celtics lost Game 6 of the NFL NBA Finals on the parquet floor. This playoff run is officially in the back view with this postseason now in full swing. It took 82 regular season games to get here and this team knows full well that one steal is just a steal and one win is just a win.
“Every game is its own story. We expect to get their best chance in the next game. The team can’t be taken for granted,” said Brown. “We let them rest a bit more in the second half. I expect the next game for them to be more prepared, so we have to be more prepared as well.”
What we hope will be consistent over the next few weeks and months is their mindset. After a few speed bumps stopped them during the year (which ultimately cost them their No. 1 overall rank), Brown knew the urgency of the moment.
“It’s a great time of the year. It’s a time we’ve been thinking about, waiting. It was very important to set the tone here on our home floor to open the playoffs. I thought we got off to a great start in the first half. Second half, we put our foot up a little bit, but we have to Continue to play basketball for 48 minutes and continue to build good habits throughout the playoffs.”