Jaylen Brown's true feelings on Ime Udoka reunion

Two years ago, the Boston Celtics reached the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years. It was the first year that Ime Udoka was head coach of the Celtics and the team seemed poised to contend for years to come. But Udoka was suspended the following season for the entire year and the team parted ways with him. He wasn't unemployed for long as the Houston Rockets scooped him. Udoka returned to Boston as an opponent on Saturday for the first time since parting ways. Celtics guard Jaylen Brown spoke fondly of their time with Udoka as per Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog.

Jaylen Brown on tonight's reunion: "It was great to see Ime. It was great to see the guys on the coaches staff that we were in the Finals, we were in the trenches with… it’s not easy to get to the Finals, with' that group, there’s always going to be some love there."

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) January 14, 2024

The Celtics ended up rolling past the Rockets, 145-113 in Ime Udoka's return with Jaylen Brown dropping a game-high 32 points in the win Brown also spoke about the contrasting styles of each of the Celtics coaches he's played for starting with Brad Stevens to Udoka and now to Joe Mazzulla. He likened Mazzulla to a combination of Stevens and Udoka.

Jaylen Brown on Ime Udoka's impact on him and Jayson Tatum (as well as Joe Mazzulla's impact since then):

"For sure. I think Ime was great for us because we were kind of used to playing in Brad's system, and Ime made the system kind of around us. It was, see a play, make a play.…

— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) January 14, 2024

The Celtics have still been a contending team with Mazzulla at the helm. Last season the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling in seven games to the Miami Heat. This season they've been holding on to the best record in the NBA and are considered by many to be the favorite to win the title.

Brown has been having another All-Star caliber season right after signing his super-max contract extension. He's been averaging 23.4 points per game, 5.2 rebounds. 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 49.6 percent shooting from the field, 36.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 73.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.