Jaylen Brown’s leadership is one of the main reasons why the Boston Celtics are where they are at this point in the season. After Sunday’s 107-79 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston moved into second place (at least until the New York Knicks play Sunday night) in the East with its 31st victory of the campaign.
Brown poured in 30 points on an efficient 12-20 from the field and 4-6 from long range. His impact reached far beyond just scoring the basketball, though. He ripped down 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, and his fourth in his last seven appearances.
There are plenty of factors that go into rebounding: positioning, luck, athleticism, and height. Even with all of those things coming into play -- more than anything -- you have to want to rebound. It’s a decision to crash the boards instead of running out in transition or getting back on defense.
Not all superstars will give their team that effort. Many will, but there are some that don’t. Brown, of course, falls into the former. He’s going to give this Celtics team everything he has on a nightly basis.
Since the turn of the new year, JB is averaging 8.1 rebounds per contest -- 1.2 more than his season average (and tied career-high) of 6.9.
“There’s a bunch of different ways that you can lead,” Mazzulla explained postgame. “I mean, there’s like 1,000 ways. One of them is what you saw tonight.”
Jaylen Brown's rebounding made an underrated impact for the Celtics
Brown’s determination on the glass, in part, kick-started the Celtics’ runaway performance in the second half. Milwaukee cut the lead down to just five with 2:37 to go before the break, then Boston responded with a crisp 9-0 run to end the half.
Six of those points came in the final 1:07, on possessions following stops in which Brown had gotten a rebound.
“He had nine rebounds in the first half alone,” Mazzulla continued. “I thought the three at the end of the first half, which got us the situational possessions that we needed. I thought he got three straight rebounds that were big for us.”
As Mazzulla pointed out, the 29-year-old’s seventh rebound of the half enabled the Celtics to play “three-for-two,” a strategy of ensuring that you outshoot your opponent to close a quarter by taking shots at the right time. Typically, to do so, you want to start your first possession with about 1:05 remaining.
All of a sudden, thanks to Brown’s efforts on the glass, Boston didn’t just look like they were dominating the game. They actually were on the scoreboard. From that point on, there wasn’t the slightest feeling that the Bucks could come back. The game was over.
“That's an area of our team that teams try to attack,” Brown told reporters in the locker room. “So you just got to get in there, get in the fight, and give your team an opportunity to win... That’s definitely a challenge I take.”
A leadership role in Boston isn’t new for the 2016 No. 3 overall pick. Brown has relished the opportunity to serve as a voice for his teammates and someone they can trust on and off the court.
With several new faces joining the fold before the season, he organized multiple team gatherings ahead of training camp to help the squad gel together. They first headed to Foxborough for a New England Patriots game, then to TD Garden for an NBA Youngboy concert.
Of course, Brown has delivered far beyond expectations. He’s played at an All-NBA level all season long, posting career-highs almost entirely across the board. Everyone’s talked about his scoring, deservedly so. But, both on and off the court, it goes so much further.
“Obviously, what he's been doing for us on the offensive end [is great], when all the little things that go into it. He knows that that's how he impacts winning. So that's just another way he leads: understanding what gives us the best chance to win every night. Also, helping set the tone for the standard that we have to have on both ends of the floor.”