Has Door Opened For Jaylen Brown To Start?

After a poor performance by Gerald Green in Game 1 against Washington, rookie small forward Jaylen Brown could weasel his way into the starting lineup at some point during the series.

In the Boston Celtics’ first round triumph over the Chicago Bulls, rookie Jaylen Brown was virtually invisible.

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Over the final four games of the six-game series, all of which concluded in a Boston victory, Brown received just nine minutes of floor time, with seven of those minutes coming towards the end of a lopsided Game 6 win. For the series, Brown averaged 2.6 points in 5.8 minutes per game after notching eight points in 20 minutes per night in the Celtics’ April regular season slate.

In Game 5, Brown failed to see the floor at all, following two consecutive contests in Chicago in which he graced the floor for just a single minute of action. However, Brown resurfaced in the fourth quarter of Boston’s Game 1 win over the Washington Wizards as the Eastern Conference Semifinals opened up on Sunday afternoon.

Not only was Brown energized by the chance to perform in front of a raucous crowd, fresh off of witnessing a 36-16 Celtics run in the third quarter, he was effective. In six minutes, Brown racked up five points, two rebounds, an assist, and a plus-minus of +8. When Brown entered the game, Boston was hardly clinging to a single-digit lead after garnering a 15-point advantage at the conclusion of the third quarter. However, he did not let the pressurized situation faze him.

With just under five minutes remaining, Brown received the ball on the right wing before sprinting right by John Wall and into the paint. With Marcin Gortat blocking his view of the basket, Brown made the wise decision not to force up an ill-advised runner and instead jump-stopped into the lane, whirled around and found Jae Crowder at the top of the key for one of the Marquette product’s six three-pointers on the day.

Prior to the dime, Brown activated his powers by canning his lone three-point attempt of the night. Brown wisely spotted up in the corner while Isaiah Thomas drove into the paint, aware that the MVP candidate would attract the majority of the defensive attention. When Thomas was forced to give the ball up, he found Brown ready for a catch-and-shoot chance in the corner. After whipping the ball in his direction, Thomas watched as Brown made one of Boston’s franchise playoff record 19 threes on the night.

Brown was not finished, using his court awareness for an easy bucket with just over a minute remaining in the game. When Al Horford received possession of the ball in the right corner 15 feet away from the hoop, Brown, standing in the opposite corner, realized that the defense had its back turned away from him. Brown then proceeded to stride across the baseline and sneak beneath the defense underneath the rim, where Horford found him for an easy lay-in.

This animated performance could usher Brown into the starting lineup for Game 2. While the Celtics are 5-0 in the postseason when good luck charm Gerald Green receives a starting nod, the veteran sharpshooter struggled mightily against the Wizards on Sunday. Green failed to take a shot through seven minutes of action, racking up a plus-minus of -13. When Green is unable to get shots off, he is essentially useless on the floor, and his presence did not help in Game 1 as Boston instantly fell behind 16-0 with him in the lineup.

Head coach Brad Stevens then tried to roll with center Amir Johnson, who did not see a single minute of playing time in the final three games of the Bulls series. We learned why Johnson was limited from floor time in the first place, as he yielded a plethora of offensive rebounds while being handed a -7 plus-minus in nine minutes. Jonas Jerebko was the only other bench player to record a negative plus-minus, racking up a -11.

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Thus, Brown’s time to shine could be now. If power forward Markieff Morris, who left Game 1 in the second quarter after rolling his ankle on the foot of Horford, is unable to play, Washington could insert either Kelly Oubre Jr. or Bojan Bogdanovic into the starting lineup in an attempt to play small ball. This would bode perfectly for Brown, as he would be an understandable matchup for both options.