Jaylen Brown took all the spotlight early in the Celtics' game against the Timberwolves on Sunday. That was natural: In the game’s opening minutes, Brown knocked down five 3-pointers as he sent the TD Garden crowd into a frenzy.
But by the end of the game, as the Celtics fended off the Timberwolves, Brown was crucial with his two-way play. He matched up against Anthony Edwards multiple times, looking to keep the Wolves star off-balance. Brown has taken plenty of pride for his defense, which he showed off in the Celtics' win over the Timberwolves on Sunday. Brown’s 29 points on 7-for-10 3-point shooting was huge for the Celtics, but so was his work on the defensive end.
“That’s my job,” Brown said. “It takes a lot on both sides of the ball — you gotta be in shape to chase a lot of these guys. Especially best players on each team. Trying to wear them down. Trying to affect their catches. It be like the smallest things. Trying to contest their shots."
Brown has made that concerted effort to focus on his two-way play especially starting last year. Before the start of the 2023-24 season, Brown expressed how he wanted to make an All-Defensive team. He took that goal to heart even though he didn’t get much attention when it came to his defense. The physical guard often took on the other team’s best player defensively on a nightly basis. So while he wasn’t getting as many shots, he looked to affect the game in a different sense.
That impact isn’t lost on the rest of his teammates. The Celtics employ capable defenders up and down their roster. Both Derrick White and Jrue Holiday made the All-Defensive second team last season; Holiday is considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. As C’s coach Joe Mazzulla preaches, when one of the team’s best players is also committed to the defensive end, there’s some extra juice.
“It’s great to have a player of his caliber take defense to another level and take matchups personally,” Mazzulla said. “When your best players are your best defenders, it kind of sets the tone for your team and your locker room defensively. So he takes pride in individual matchups, and he did a great job of that tonight.”
Brown has praised his fellow two-way players — he also points out the physical toll it takes to play both ends over the course of the season. That’s been noticeable for Brown as he’s showed up to training camp in great shape. Brown’s impact was naturally seen last season when he was named East Finals then NBA Finals MVP. So Sunday was more of the same for Brown as the Celtics improved to 14-3.
“Give nothing easy — that was my focus," Brown said. “Being able to know what play they’re running, pre-switch it and see where it’s going. I can blow up actions. I try to do that a lot, and you gotta study film to do that. Just try to make everything tough.”
