In a tightly contested game, Jaylen Brown led the Boston Celtics to a victory over the surging Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night. Charlotte led for most of the game, but Boston finally managed to break through at the end of the third quarter, and they didn’t look back from there, securing a 113-102 win. The win marked the Celtics’ 17th double-digit comeback win of the season, tied for 2nd-most in the NBA.
Brown ended the night leading the team in points and rebounds at 35 and 9 respectively, tacking
on 3 assists as well. He was a big force in Boston’s third quarter surge, scoring or assisting on 13 of the team’s 22 points in the final 7 minutes of the quarter. The other 9 points came from a flurry of threes by Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard, capped off by Jaylen scoring 4 points in 34 seconds to give send the Celtics into the fourth quarter with a 3-point lead.
Just a few days ago, Bill Chisholm, owner of the Celtics, had some high praise for Jaylen in an interview with The Boston Globe which felt very applicable to Boston’s win over the Hornets. “He’s always been incredible… The leadership stuff has really been impressive,” he said, adding, “when we’re struggling in a game, you can just see it. He’s like ‘OK, this is enough. Enough of this screwing around.’ And he puts his head down and gets to the rim and gets a really high-quality shot.”
Chisholm also mentioned seeing little interactions between Jaylen and the other guys on the team, with Brown supporting and encouraging them. Those interactions extend beyond the court as well. As many fans know, JB has started to stream on Twitch, and often times he breaks down game film, giving insight into different plays and reads.
After the Celtics took down the Toronto Raptors, Jaylen invited Jordan Walsh onto his stream. Brown looked like a man coaching up his little brother, seeing Walsh’s potential, and trying to instill confidence in him while still poking fun and joking around.
“[You] had a great year… Celtics legends are born during the playoffs… are you ready for the smoke?” Brown asked Walsh.
“For sure, I’ve been waiting for this one,” Walsh replied. “This time I get a chance to impact the game.”
People have criticized Brown for streaming after games, saying that it shows a lack of focus, and that he’s not “locked in.” The results show something very different, though. Jaylen is playing some of his best basketball lately and has been lifting his teammates up with him. He’s shown off a greater attention to detail, and we get to hear more of what goes on in his mind as he approaches the games.
Just a month ago, JB was ejected in the first half of a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs after voicing his displeasure with the lack of foul calls. He didn’t let it go after the ejection either, taking to Twitter and Twitch to get it off his chest. Prior to that ejection, Jaylen was averaging 7 FTA per game. Since that point, he’s gotten his average up to 10.4 FTA per game, the fourth highest rate in the league. He increased his efficiency too, raising his freethrow percentage from 78% to 84.8%.
Brown knew he was going to have extra responsibility on his shoulders this year, and at every stage of the season, he’s adjusted his game to put the team in the best possible position to succeed. That’s including supporting his teammates on and off the court. He always has praise for his guys, and even opposing teams. He takes the time to understand and appreciate the game around him to better understand how to approach it.
JB compared the Hornets to a younger version of the Celtics, praising their ability to shoot the ball, along with their “fearlessness.” He knows that Charlotte could be a potential first-round playoff matchup, and took note of their intensity in the game. “Give credit to Charlotte,” Brown said. “They came out trying to blow up screens. They came out playing with a different intensity level than we did to start the game.”
Even in a complimentary response like this, you get insight into what he sees and feels over the course of a game. JB recognized that the Hornets were playing at a higher level, and the team adjusted to match their energy. Walsh, who was coming off of some high praise in his appearance on Jaylen’s stream, was probably the biggest catalyst for Boston’s shift, no doubt empowered by JB’s words of encouragement.
Small gestures go a long way, and it’s been clear since the beginning of the season that Jaylen has been locked in, and making every effort to lead the Celtics in the right direction. In an MVP-caliber season of career-highs in points, rebounds, and assists, this leadership is maybe Brown’s biggest edge in the MVP race. While he’s certainly deserving, and surely wants the recognition, there’s nothing that he and the team want more than another deep playoff run, hopefully capped off with another Larry O’Brien to bring back to Boston.
