Brown still searching for shooting rhythm
Jaylen Brown isn’t satisfied. Jaylen Brown will never be satisfied. It’s not in his nature.
The positive side of that equation is that the Celtics wing is always on an improvement track. The downside is he’s apt to overthink a bit when things aren’t going precisely as he’d like.
That’s why Brown has steadily made himself more valuable as he moves into his third NBA season -- and also why he’s had a rough shooting start this year. But after hitting just 15-of-49 from the floor (30.6 percent) in the first five games, he was more in the groove in Saturday’s win at Detroit, making six of 13 shots on the way to 19 points -- and providing the initial defense on Blake Griffin.
On the personal import of such a game considering the previous five, Brown’s eyes smiled a bit.
“I wasn’t trippin,’” he said. “For me, it’s just coming out and playing basketball.
“I felt good. Just trying to catch a rhythm and just trying to play the game. Like, we’re all coming together as a unit, and the season’s early. But as soon as we get on the same page, we’re going to be really good.”
In a separate conversation with the Herald, Brown acknowledged his struggles.
“It’s been a little frustrating,” he said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to make plays and hit shots. I’m trying to find a rhythm, trying to take the right shots. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Stepping into the void created by injuries last season, he was necessarily a more prominent part of the offense. Now the opportunities can be fewer, though it’s notable that there have been more openings as the Celts have played better overall -more ball movement, better player movement -- in the second half of the win over Oklahoma City and most all of Saturday’s victory over the Pistons.
It’s a matter of fit, and the Celts are hoping things look as good when they meet Detroit again tomorrow night in the Garden.
“That’s the balance of it,” Brown said. “We’ve got a long season, and I’m not hanging my head. At the end of the day, I’m a basketball player. I feel like I can play in any system and adapt to anything, so it’s on me. I’ve got to get in the gym, get in the lab and make sure I make those plays.
“It’s just something to figure out. When adversity hits, you’ve just got to figure it out. You don’t point fingers, make excuses; you just figure it out. It’s on me.”
Added Brown, “I’ve been thinking too much, missing easy shots, stuff like that. But I’ve definitely got to get adjusted to everybody on the floor.”
While he may, in fact, have been trippin’ to some degree, his coach definitely wasn’t.
“Jaylen plays with unbelievable energy,” said Brad Stevens, “and I think he’s trying to make all the right plays. I think he’s doing fine. Everybody that’s struggling to make a shot right now, those will go over time. I just think Jaylen is really trying to make the right plays.”
As for Brown looking for his niche, Stevens believes the solution is organic.
“I think what we have to do is make the right play every time down the floor,” he said. “And if there’s a night where the right play is for him to get a post, a shot, whatever, then we’ll make it until we’re blue in the face if we’re a good team. But we’ve got to make great strides in making the right play as a team. I think he’s really tried to do that.”
And where some in basketball have seen Brown’s deep thinking as a negative -- remember the hilarious pre-draft scouting reports that he may he too smart ?-Stevens has the opposite view.
“I love guys that think about how to be great, and he’s always on top of that,” the coach said. “I have a great deal of belief in him because of that. I think that he wants to be good. He’s not satisfied when things go well. And a large part of that is because he’s always trying to be introspective and try to get better.”