Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Defends Unpopular Jaylen Brown Decision Vs. Kings
With Jayson Tatum sidelined by an Achilles injury, Jaylen Brown has put the Boston Celtics on his back this season. He’s carried a heavy load for them, performing at an MVP level on both ends of the floor as one of the league’s best two-way players.
He’s also played nearly every game, suiting up for 45 of the Celtics’ 49 games. Meanwhile, his 34.3 minutes per game are tied for the third-most of his career.
Joe Mazzulla’s had a hard time keeping his best player off the court, but he’s managed to find a few rest days for him recently. After playing Boston’s first 21 games, Brown missed two in December and two in January.
Unfortunately for Celtics fans, Brown’s most recent maintenance day fell on his bobblehead night against the Sacramento Kings last Friday. The Kings are one of the worst teams in the league, so it was a good night for him to take off.
While Boston fans weren’t happy to see the 2024 NBA Finals MVP in street clothes, Mazzulla defended his decision to the media.
“It’s good. It’s important that he gets the rest that he needs, and it’s important that we continue to develop and grow as a team,” Mazzulla told reporters. “Multiple things come out of that. I always like when some of those guys sit because they get to see the game from a different perspective…and it builds affirmation in the guys that we have. Regardless of who’s in, who’s out, the expectation is to win, and I think that’s something we’ve been really good at over the few years here.”
Mazzulla makes several good points there. The NBA is a long season, and Brown’s not a kid anymore. The Celtics need to preserve him and keep him relatively fresh for the playoffs, especially if Tatum doesn’t return.
He’s also right that Boston needs to learn how to play and win without him. He can’t be on the court all the time, even when he does play, so his teammates need to find other ways to score and not become too reliant on him.
The Celtics have been good at that this year, going 3-1 with a plus-19.5 average point differential without him. Their only loss was a controversial two-point defeat against the Indiana Pacers a few weeks ago where the referees missed an illegal screen call at the end of the game, so Boston’s been okay.
Sure enough, the Celtics dominated the Kings without him, winning by 19. Their fans may have missed Brown, but at least they still got to see a win.