Jalen Brunson is one of the best point guards in the NBA, and guarding him is a tall task—that’s why Joe Mazzulla wants the Boston Celtics to focus on the controllables. When asked about the challenge of guarding Brunson, Mazzulla admitted that it takes a village, but also noted the importance of focusing on margins in order to mitigate his impact: “You just can’t do it with one guy. It takes a team. It takes different matchups. It takes different coverages. But there’s got to be a level of physicality. A level of discipline. A level of attention to detail on tendencies.
“At the same time, if you add up all the points, there are a number of points to which you can work to be disciplined and work to control. At the same time, he’s a great player, and he’s going to make plays.
“To me, that’s why the margins are so important. If you put yourself in a position to where you don’t impact the margins at a high level, players of his caliber who can get to his spot, can get to the free-throw line, put you in a tough spot. Have to defend him as a team, have to be disciplined in tendencies, and have to defend him on the margins.”
How did Jalen Brunson play against Celtics during the regular season?
This regular season, Brunson averaged 26.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists while shooting 48.8% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc. He also got to the line 6.9 times per game, shooting 82.1% from the charity stripe.
And against the Celtics, Brunson was actually even better than his season averages. While the raw numbers were similar—26.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists—Brunson was far more efficient against Boston. He shot 52.8% from the floor and 43.3% from behind the three-point line.
However, Brunson only got to the line 4.5 times per game. That’s two fewer free throws than his season average, which is a big part of the Celtics’ game plan. Boston won all four matchups against New York. A clean 4-0.
Celtics focused more on margins than Jalen Brunson?
Even throughout their first-round series against the Orlando Magic, Mazzulla made a point to emphasize margins. After their two games in Orlando, a Game 3 loss and a Game 4 win, Mazzulla pointed to three factors: Defending without fouling, rebounding, and taking care of the basketball.
Speaking with reporters on Friday afternoon ahead of the Celtics-Knicks series, he brought up those same points again.
As much as Boston wants to limit Brunson’s effectiveness, they understand the real focus should be on controlling the things they can control. They can control their fouling. They can control their defensive rebounding. They can control their turnovers.
If they can manage to keep those three controllables in a realm that correlates to winning, Brunson’s X-factor play won’t be as much of an issue.