NBA has finally granted Jaylen Brown his longtime wish

In back-to-back losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers earlier this month, the Boston Celtics shot a combined 13 free throws. The lack of love that they received from the officials sparked very public criticism from the Celtics.

Jaylen Brown laid into the entire officiating crew from the Jan. 10 loss to the Spurs, earning himself a $35,000 fine from the league.

Two days later, Joe Mazzulla delivered the same answer to all six postgame questions in Indiana: “Illegal screen.” Boston’s man in charge wanted to make it clear that he felt that Pacers’ star Pascal Siakam got away with an illegal screen before scoring the game-winning basket that night.

Nearly two weeks after Brown’s locker room rant, the Celtics shot 16 free throws in the first half of their 119-104 win over Indiana -- more than the prior two games combined. It’s insane when you think about it.

“Maybe it was the fine,” Brown said postgame via CLNS Media. “That’s important when you’re playing good teams, regardless of the Xs and Os. Complaints or not, if you’re not getting to the free-throw line at least eight to ten times per game, it’s tough to win. Especially playing through physicality. So we just gotta keep putting pressure on the rim and find ways to get those calls for our team.”

Jaylen Brown has driven to the basket more than any other NBA player lately

Brown has put pressure on the rim consistently this season. Every game, he puts his head down, muscles (or finesses) his way inside, and creates opportunities for the team. What’s frustrated him is that the results haven’t been consistent.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, no player had driven to the rim more than JB did in his last 10 appearances. During that span, Brown averaged over 21 drives per game. Yet, he only got to the free-throw line about seven times per outing.

Six players drove fewer times yet got fouled more. Some of that may be skill in drawing fouls, but part of what goes into that is actually driving to the cup, which Brown has done.

Donovan Mitchell, who averaged eight fewer drives, shot the same number of free throws as JB on average.

No wonder Brown was willing to pay the fine to air his frustrations.

Fortunately for the Celtics, their free-throw fortunes have turned since their star player and coach spoke up.

Over the past four games, they’ve made 22 or more trips to the charity stripe every time -- three more times than their season average, the lowest number in the league. The results in those matchups indicate the difference, too. Boston won three of these four outings, with their one loss coming by one point to the first-place Detroit Pistons.

As the Celtics head back on the road, it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep putting pressure on opposing defenses and earning trips to the line.