Brown roles with bench spot after injury
Jaylen Brown returned to the lineup last night against the Knicks and came off the bench for the first time in a regular-season game since his rookie year.
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
In the process, a different kind of perspective was about to settle in for the swingman, who missed the last three games with a bruised back.
“I think that there’s benefit always, especially if you look at it through his lens,” coach Brad Stevens said. “He’s a really bright guy and he was really engaged in all the prep for all those games. This wasn’t a situation where a guy was out and he wasn’t necessarily paying attention because he knew he wasn’t going to play for a while.
“Like, he was really locked into it,” Stevens added. “There was a chance he would have played even last Saturday, so you could tell that he was prepared, watching, and taking it all in. First and foremost, at his core, Jaylen is a competitive guy. And winning is really important to him. I think any time you have that then you’re willing to do whatever it takes for the good of the team. Kudos to these guys for stepping up and doing that.”
In this instance, Brown only had to reach back as far as the playoffs last spring for his most recent experience as a reserve.
“The biggest thing is, first and foremost, you talk about what your plan of attack is. And then, secondly, you just say he’s done that before, he came off last year in the playoffs, coming off an injury, it’s not all that new for him,” Stevens said.
Straightening line
The Celtics at least momentarily broke through a team-wide barrier with Saturday’s 21-for-21 performance from the line in Minnesota, with Gordon Hayward going 10-for-10 and Kyrie Irving 7-for-7.
The Celtics remain 29th in the league in attempted free throws. Though Brown, because of his explosiveness at the rim, is the other Celtic who potentially can earn substantial numbers at the line, Stevens doesn’t sound concerned about his team improving in this area.
“When you make that your only goal then you drive it into traffic and you don’t make the right play,” Stevens offered as a note of caution. “I think (Brown will) get to the line, he drives the ball, and, at the end of the day, his ability to make plays off the catch or drive or kick out, but it’s just about, for all of us, making the right play.
“I’m not too consumed with where our free-throw rate is — it wasn’t good last year,” he said. “A lot of the numbers that we’re not as good at we were in a pretty similar boat last year — 2-point percentage, free throw rate, offensive rebound rate. But our offensive numbers have gone up and they’ve gone up pretty significantly in the last few weeks. So we’ll just try to soar with what we’re good at.”
Brown, nonetheless, understands how he can thrive in this area.
“Getting into the paint, I think that’s what helps us to get open shots, creating those paint threats,” he said. “My job is putting pressure on the defense by getting to the paint and that is going to help that as well.”
Team works
Irving’s recent comments about teammates wanting to win on their own terms, as opposed to winning for each other, continue to resonate. Stevens, though, seems to be taking the concept with a grain of salt.
“I think sacrifice is a buzz word in sports, a little strong like adversity is a little strong,” Stevens said. “Just basketball, really, but at the end of the day it’s not how each individual can play – it’s how you function as a team. Our functioning wasn’t good early, it’s been better lately, but it has to get better. Funny, because it’s all about perspective. I just looked at our offensive and defensive numbers and both are better than last year, which took me back because it didn’t feel that way. Our offense can get a lot better, and our defense has shown some issues, so we just have to improve.