For Jaylen Brown in particular and for the Celtics overall, their time is now
Jaylen #Jaylen
So far this postseason, Jaylen Brown has found himself at the sharp end of a James Harden elbow, sprawled on the court after nearly being the victim of a Joel Embiid foot stomp, and up close and personal with his face on the TD Garden hardwood.
Bleeding from the hand or bleeding from the mouth, Brown has been a picture of intensity across an Eastern Conference opening-round series win against the Hawks, a grueling seven-game conference semifinals slog against the Sixers, and an opening-game disappointment against the Heat in the conference finals. He continues to play with urgency, a relatively consistent force on a team that can be so maddening for its occasional lapses in that category.
Brown, as much as anyone in green, seems keenly aware of what we know to be true with this 2022-23 Celtics squad: Their time is now. Perhaps that’s because he has made it clear that his time is now as well, a recent selection to the All-NBA team putting him among the top 15 players in the league and triggering the possibility for a lucrative contract. Of course that can only happen if Brown decides to stay in Boston, which feels more possible now that the Celtics are the only team that can give him a five-year, $318 million super-max deal.
But Brown’s wants might push him elsewhere, whether rooted in a desire to leave a hyper critical fan base or to leave a teammate in Jayson Tatum who is always going to demand the bigger spotlight. Even the slimmest possibility that Brown would reject the lucrative deal adds to the urgency of his time with this group.
Still, as the two Jays grow more comfortable with each other than ever, and with both due huge raises thanks to their All-NBA status, the best-case Boston scenario is for them to stay together, here, for the long term. Even those outside the market can see it. On a recent episode of Paul George’s podcast show, both the Clippers star and his guest DeMar DeRozan of the Bulls spoke to the future of J & J.
“It’s so hard to find two talented wings in our game to be on the same team,” DeRozan said. “Those guys have gained so much experience already playing together. Being to the Finals. Being in the conference finals, All-Stars. It’s so hard to find that within your own organization … I hope they stay together.”
Echoed George: “You think about legacy, they’re doing it in Boston. They’ve got a chance — if they stay together, if they build — they’ve got a chance to be up there with some of the greatest players we’ve ever seen. I hope it doesn’t come to a point where the pie’s not big enough. I hope they can figure out how to share that [expletive] and grow together.”
Too bad sports is littered with moments that passed us by, never to be recreated again.
The desire to recreate and then close out last year’s journey has been obvious for this group since, well, [insert a pivotal moment here]. There are plenty to choose from.
Let’s start by going back to the end of last season, to a team that fell two painful wins short of a title, to a core group of players — Brown, Tatum and fellow veterans Marcus Smart and Al Horford — that experienced the agonizing pain of missed opportunity, swallowed the bitter taste of being oh-so-close to ultimate NBA glory. From that moment, these players eyed the future, aimed their gaze toward getting back so they could close the deal, fueled their desire by knowing it could be now or never. Their time is now.
Or let’s move it forward to the opening of training camp, when the first workouts of the season began under such uncertainty. Amid all the shock resulting from coach Ime Udoka’s abrupt suspension, Joe Mazulla’s surprising promotion made it clear the front office felt it important to turn to somebody already on staff In plucking the little-known Mazzulla from the second row of assistant coaches, they put faith in his familiarity with the players, a decision that underscored this group didn’t need wholesale change. Their time is now.
Or look at the roster as it evolved over the season, how the additions of veteran bench depth like new face Malcolm Brodgon or very much improved face Derrick White provided balance while the impact of younger talent like Robert Williams III provided punch. The regular season earned the Celtics the second seed in the playoffs, and when these pesky Heat upended No. 1 Milwaukee in the first round, it opened a TD Garden path to the Finals. Their time is now.
Of course it hasn’t been that easy, not with a group that clearly thrives most when the situations are the hardest. It was Brown who put words to that frustrating inconsistency after Wednesday’s Game 1 loss.
“We came out too cool. It was just almost like we were just playing a regular-season game,” he said. “It’s the Eastern Conference finals. Like, come on. We’ve got to play with more intensity than we did.”
As a scorer (24.4-point average through 14 playoff games), as a defender, or as a vocal leader, Brown is doing his best to lead the way. With no guarantees, not for a long run in the playoffs and not for a long tenure in Boston, he knows his time is now.