BOSTON — With every bucket Jaylen Brown made throughout the Celtics’ blowout Game 2 win over the Pacers, each one felt like a statement. Brown was a surprise snub in the All-NBA awards released Wednesday despite having arguably the best season of his career.
Brown made a huge statement, pouring in 40 points as he looked like the best player on the court Thursday. Brown was relatively mum after the game, saying “I don’t got the time to give a (expletive)” because they’re now two games away from the NBA Finals. But his teammates had plenty to say, calling out the voters in the process.
“JB, that’s a snub, for sure,” Payton Pritchard said. “I don’t understand how you can be the No. 1 team by a wide margin and only have one dude. JB’s been terrific all year. Two-way player. He definitely deserves to be on there.”
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“He should have been on one of those NBA teams, that’s all I’m saying,” Oshae Brissett said. “I feel like tonight was one of those nights that he’s done multiple times this year and showed that he is a top player in the league. But I don’t know if he’s talking like this, but I’ll talk like this for him. He should have been on one of those teams, he’s been great all year for us, a guy we can count on down the stretch, start of the games, doesn’t matter. And tonight was a testament to that.”
Brown’s counting stats dipped this season, but that was because he didn’t take as many shots as part of a loaded Celtics roster. Still, he found consistent ways to make an impact — especially on defense, where he upped his game and often guarded the opposition’s best player. As Pritchard pointed out, the C’s believe winning should play a factor considering they did win 64 games as the clear best team in the NBA.
The C’s did have one All-NBA selection in Jayson Tatum, who was named first-team for the third straight season. But still, Brown’s omission was surprising considering the team’s regular season success. Brown was also named second-team All-NBA last season, which allowed him to get his supermax extension he signed last summer.
But regardless, as Brown pointed out, the Celtics are on the edge of making the NBA Finals. They now hold a 2-0 series lead over the Pacers after their Game 2 victory. The C’s led for the majority of the second half as Brown set the tone early with his 24 first-half points. Game 3 is set for 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“We all felt like, internally, that he should have made one of the All-NBA teams,” Tatum said. “So it was a shame to see that he didn’t.”
