BOSTON, MA — At this point in his career, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown isn't concerned with personal awards. He just wants to win. If that was ever in doubt, Brown put that uncertainty to rest on Thursday night following the Celtics' 126-110 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Indiana Pacers. During his postgame presser, the three-time All-Star was asked if he found any extra motivation in being left off all three All-NBA Teams.
“I mean, we two games from the Finals. You know, honestly, I don't got the time to give a f***,” he said bluntly.
Some of the voters who didn't give Brown All-NBA honors might be regretting their decision in the wake of Game 2. The 27-year-old tied his playoff career-high with 40 points while going 14-for-27 from the field. Whatever the Pacers threw at him just wasn't enough to curb his heater.
Brown's “just win” mentality is great for any team with championship aspirations. Although having All-NBA honors would be nice, it's simply not a priority for the longest-tenured Celtic.
“He's just like, one of my favorite people,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Brown in his postgame remarks. “I think he cares about [being snubbed] in a way that motivates him, and I think he doesn't really care about it at all because he understands that winning is the most important thing. And so, he has an innate ability to just get there, work hard, motivation. He has unreal confidence, but he's also not afraid to work on the things that he knows he has to get better at.”
In the first round of the 2024 playoffs, Brown had to work on his free throws. He shot 45% from the charity stripe from the Miami Heat, which isn't ideal for a star player. In Game 2, he made Indiana pay for fouling him, hitting eight of his 11 free throws.
“You see him every day at shootaround or practice,” Mazzulla continued. “He's out there with six, seven coaches working on every possession, every spacing imaginable so that he sees his reads. He just cares about the right stuff. But you know, I honestly, I think stuff like [the snub] does motivate him, but I know he also really wants to win. He has a growth mindset. Wants to get better. So I've really enjoyed coaching him and really watching him work.”
What the rest of the Celtics had to say about Brown's stellar showing
While Brown lit it up, fellow star Jayson Tatum struggled to get it going on Thursday.
He finished with 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists, yet had just four points at halftime. Given his rough first half and the absence of center Kristaps Porzingis, who was one of Boston's best offensive options throughout the regular season, Brown's performance came at the perfect time.
“I think the game is slowing down for him more and more,” Tatum said at his postgame presser. “Finding ways to be effective still while making the right play and just being himself, and we need him to be.”
In past postseason outings, Brown occasionally pushed the pace a little too much and ran into turnover trouble. During Game 2, he found a nice balance of getting out in transition while also taking care of the ball.
“He has it going,” Celtics guard Jrue Holiday stated when asked what he saw from Brown. “Y’all see what I see. Great player, great leader, but wants to win and takes things into his own hands. Having a guy like that on my side, I love it. I’ll ride for him, and whatever I can do to obviously get that win is needed. The way JB has been playing, man, it’s outstanding.”
Prior to Thursday night's victory, Brown averaged 23.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the playoffs. In the regular season, Brown averaged 23 points and 5.5 rebounds over the course of 70 games.
Brown also boasts the best field goal percentage of any Celtic who's averaging more than 10 shot attempts a game. Despite the fact that he's typically viewed as the second option on the Green Team, he's played like the go-to guy so far in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“We fought better in this game,” Brown stated. “There’s still some stuff we can clean up but I think we fought, so that was the most important thing.”
The semifinal series will now head to Indiana for Games 3 and 4. Boston holds a 2-0 lead and is perfect on the road this postseason. However, the Pacers can't be underestimated, as they're undefeated at home and just came back from a 2-0 deficit against the New York Knicks to win the series in seven games.
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