Brown off to soaring start
Celtics guard 5th in league scoring
Jaylen Brown’s 31-point performance against the Pistons on Sunday marked his third 30-plus game this season.
He’s fifth in league scoring with a 28.0 average and is dueling with Washington’s Bradley Beal for most total points in the league. As evidenced by the chain of midrange jumpers Brown made Sunday, he’s mastered scoring from virtually every spot on the floor. He’s 12th in the league with a particularly un-wing-like 59.8 shooting percentage over seven games.
“That’s big-time. He’s been playing great and really shooting it, like shooting the lights out,” said Jayson Tatum. “Obviously, he’s been working on his game each and every year and it’s showing.”
Said Brown: “As you get more experience, the more things develop for you. The more opportunities I’ve gotten, the better things have gone for me.”
A lot’s different
The weirdness of COVID road conditions have settled in for the Celtics, and it’s a lot different than playing in the Orlando bubble. As the Celtics have discovered during the start of this road trip, which will ultimately span Detroit, Toronto (playing home games in Florida) and Miami, things are truly different in an isolated, empty way.
“First of all, we haven’t been at the pool in Indiana or Detroit,” coach Brad Stevens joked about the big difference between Orlando and the upper Midwest. “And there’s not really much to do, right? I haven’t spent a ton of time downtown but Indianapolis was really, really empty. Where we stayed this time was, I thought, just not a lot open, not a lot around, obviously.
“The pandemic has effected everyone,” he said. “When you are traveling the chance to congregate, in our situation, is in huge ballrooms but really wellspaced with masks on. So it’s still unique. Even more unique than the bubble. When you got into our meal room at Disney it was a small space, really. So even when we watched film it was all 30 people, 35 people in our travel party that were all in their together and you really did feel like you were all in this together, all the time. It was just an experience that was unlike any other that you’ve ever experienced. This, I think, we have to just continue to have team meals when we can. We have to continue to congregate when we can. We have to continue, when we meet and when we’re in the gym, to build that because there are a lot of challenges with the testing and other things to do that. It’s a good question. We’re going to do everything we can to build that camaraderie and that togetherness. But it is unique to any travel that I’ve ever experienced before.”
Mutual admiration
Robert Williams has credited Tristan Thompson with changing his approach to the game. As it turns out, Thompson has been a big fan of Williams dating back to the latter’s time at Texas A&M.
“When him and his teammates kicked North Carolina’s ass in Charlotte, I’ve always been in love with the kid’s game,” said Thompson. “He plays hard and I remember being that kid that’s trying to figure out my niche and figure out how can I impact this league and I think Rob has a lot of potential.
“So for me, being that guy used to be like that and having vets like Perk ( Kendrick Perkins) and Antawn Jamison helped kind of mold my game, as a pro I want to pass it down because I think at the end of the day, that’s part of being a pro,” he said. “Take the gems that I’ve learned from guys before me and give it to guys like Rob. His energy, especially coming off the bench, can change the game so much. His athletic ability, whether it’s running the floor, blocking shots, rebounding, putbacks, all those things especially coming off the bench can impact the game so much.
“I love the kid, I love how he works, I love his energy so if I can help him become a better player, because he’ll help me be better. So we help each other to become better, and in the long run, that’s how you, in the playoffs I do my thing and then he checks in for me he does this thing and it’s like a reckoning. Teams don’t get no time off at the center position. You got me kicking their ass then you got Rob kicking their ass, so that’s what I’m just trying to do. Get him better each and every day. He’ll get me better.”