Before the season, Jaylen Brown said that he wanted to make the All-Defensive First Team. So far, he’s lived up to his word.
Defense looks different for Brown every night. One game, he’ll be guarding Damian Lillard. The next, he’ll be taking on Anthony Edwards. But on Saturday night, he stood toe-to-toe with Zion Williamson.
The New Orleans Pelicans are fighting for home-court advantage in the playoffs, and Williamson has played a career-high 63 games already. The 6-foot-6, 284-pound forward is an absolute freight train, and Brown was tasked with standing in his way.
“Different strategy than usual, but whatever the team needs,” Brown said. “I feel like that’s something that my team relies on me to do now. So, I’ll take you with the honor and responsibility. That was my matchup, and I wanted to make sure that we made it tough on him. And I think we did.”
Williamson had his way in the first quarter, but after that, the Boston Celtics put on a defensive Master Class. Led by Brown’s defense on the big man, they held Williamson to 4-of-11 shooting in the latter three quarters after a monster 12-point first frame on 5-of-6 from the field.
As the Celtics prepare for the playoffs, Brown is enjoying the ins and outs of every defensive matchup he takes on.
“I think the difference this year is the pride that he takes in guarding whoever he needs to guard depending upon what’s best for that particular game,” said Joe Mazzulla. “Whether it’s guarding a guard and chasing over in pick-and-roll, picking them up full-court, or guarding a guy like Zion [who] he has to get high pick-up points on.”
He knows his value goes far beyond the numbers.
“I think he’s understanding that he can have a crazy impact on the game in many ways without scoring, and he’s taken pride in that,” Mazzulla said. “And I think his defensive ownership has been big for us.”
Brown was bodying Williamson, meeting him before he could get to the three-point line, and standing him up on drives. He met physicality with physicality.
Paired with some beautiful help defense from Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and the rest of the Celtics, Brown was a huge reason why Williamson’s dominance was quelled.
Even when he fouled Williamson, he sent a message.
“In that moment, I was just letting him [and] everybody else in the gym know [that] I’m not going nowhere,” Brown said of his post-foul conversation with Williamson. “I’m strong enough to stand my ground.”
Though Brown’s matchup with Williamson assuredly took its toll, his post-game concerns took the shape of some freak on-court incidents.
Early in the first, Brown slipped on what seemed to be a wet spot in the corner of the court. He went down, stayed down, and grasped his knee.
Brown stayed in the game, and despite the eerie sight at the time, he isn’t too worried about that issue.
“I think I slipped,” Brown said post-game. “I hit it on the ground. Court was a little slick out there tonight. But I think I’ll be alright.”
However, he will end up having to get another situation checked out.
While on a fast break midway through the second, Brown slipped again, this time injuring his wrist while trying to break his fall.
“I’m gonna get that looked at when we get back to Boston,” Brown said. “But it’s been bothering me for a little bit now.”
Brown has had wrist problems in the past, most notably the surgery in 2021 that cost him the latter portion of the season.
On a night full of big-bodied pushing and shoving with Williamson, a sleek court brought Brown the most trouble.
