The Boston Celtics are set to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA Playoffs starting on Tuesday, and while Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell are good friends, Brown is putting friendship aside for his upcoming matchup.
“Ain't no friends in the playoffs,” Jaylen Brown said, via Bobby Krivitsky of SportsMap Radio.
For the Celtics and Brown, the main focus will be what to do with Donovan Mitchell, specifically on the defensive end of the floor, because Mitchell has proved he can carry an offense basically on his own. Brown spoke on the threat that Mitchell presents the Celtics.
“He's explosive, three level scorer, his strength gives him an advantage on a lot of defenders,” Brown said, via Krivitsky.
The Celtics are coming off of a series win over the Miami Heat in five games. After a scare with the loss in Game 2 to the Heat, the Celtics responded with three comfortable wins to close out the series.
As for the Cavaliers, they are coming off of a hard-fought series win over the Orlando Magic, which went the distance to seven games. In that series, the home team won each game. Game 7 took place on Sunday, and the Cavaliers won 106-94 over the Magic, so the Celtics are at an advantage when it comes to rest coming into Game 1.
As far as expectations, the Celtics are in a championship or bust mode, as they have been over the last few years. That is especially true this year, as the Celtics had a historic regular season with far and away the best record this season. After making the Finals two years ago and losing in the conference finals last year, the Celtics are looking to take that next step after adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday during the offseason.
Full circle moment for the Celtics
The Celtics are facing the Cavaliers in the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season, when Boston lost in Game 7 to the then LeBron James and Kyrie Irving-led Cleveland squad. This time, it is a much different roster that Brown and the Celtics are going up against, but they are still looking to get revenge on the Cavaliers franchise.
“That was the last time with Cleveland? Sheesh. Yeah a long time ago. 2018, sheesh,” Brown said, via Justin Turpin of WEEI. “I feel like I've come a long way. Obviously that was a great experience and journey being able to play in the playoffs, at that time they had LeBron. It still stings a little bit that we lost in the end in Game 7. So we're gonna make sure this series is a little different.”
Like in 2018, Boston has home court advantage, but this time the Celtics are significant favorites in the series. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out over the course of the series.