DALLAS — Early this season, as the Celtics put together their game plans, Jaylen Brown asked to guard the other team’s best perimeter threat. It was part of his directive to emphasize the defensive side of the court to ensure the C’s didn’t miss a beat.
With the Celtics more than halfway through their season, Brown stopped asking to guard the other team’s best. Now, that’s been normalized because he’s done it so often, he said. So there was Brown in his now-natural spot matched up against Luka Doncic, trying to make life as difficult as possible for the Mavericks star.
Brown ended up getting the better of Doncic on multiple occasions. He hit tough buckets over him, along with dropping him on a crossover. Doncic will get his production as he’s one of the game’s best players, finishing with a triple-double of 33 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, though he was 12-for-30 from the field. But Brown got his wins on Doncic when he was matched against him in the Celtics’ 119-110 victory over the Mavs. And it’s that two-way play Brown has shown that has turned heads.
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“Basketball is both sides,” Brown said. “The purity of it is that as I’m trying to challenge myself to get better, I challenge myself to be the best that I can be on both sides of the ball. Moments like this kind of prepares you for the long run. Being able to pick up guys full court. Being able to get in guy’s jerseys for long durations of time kind of builds endurance for the playoffs and stuff like that.”
Brown’s two-way play is also a byproduct of the talented C’s roster. He doesn’t necessarily have to score consistently as the Celtics are deep, and they’ve stressed every night looks different. So Brown has been able to commit to the defensive end while still being able to put up 35 points like he did Monday.
Of course, it takes plenty of conditioning to be able to play elite ball on both ends. Brown said he’s in different shape compared to past seasons, so he plans on building on that momentum going forward. That way, he can go long durations where he’s able to stymie the opposition without getting too tired.
“We kind of glorify guys who can play one side of the ball,” Brown said. “But we don’t really pay respect to people who guard and play defense and get deflections and steals and change the game in that area. We only glorify people who can score because that’s what the NBA has marketed.”
Brown’s commitment to defense is also a sign of the times. The Celtics lost a former Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart, who also quarterbacked the defense. So someone needed to set the tone on that end — Brown took it upon himself to be a leader in that regard.
So while the counting stats offensively are down, Brown’s defense can’t be overlooked. That’s more difficult to quantify for a guy coming off second-team All-NBA last season. But the returns midway through the season have impressed, and the Celtics will hope Brown can be that much more dangerous going forward.
“The guys take full ownership of working with us in our defensive scheme,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “When your best players want to play defense, you got a chance every night. That’s one of the things, since I’ve been here with the Celtics, I’ve seen it and it’s continued.”
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