Tag: jaylen brown

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown undergoes wrist surgery

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown yesterday underwent successful scapholunate (wrist) reconstruction surgery.

He is expected to return to basketball activities in approximately three months.

The Celtics are just 35-35 this season, which is the 7th best record in the Eastern conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2020-21 are Jayson Tatum at 26.4 points per game, Brown at 24.7 ppg, Kemba Walker at 19.3 ppg in 43 games played, and Marcus Smart at 13.1 ppg.

Brown this season averaged 24.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 31.8 minutes per game.

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown out for season with wrist injury

This past weekend Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown was diagnosed with a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist.

Brown is expected to have the torn ligament surgically repaired later this week, and will be out for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.

This is a huge blow to a Celtics team that has struggled this season but enjoyed fine play from Brown, one of the team’s core young stars.

LeBron James calls Jaylen Brown ‘underappreciated’

It’s always cool when LeBron James tells the world that you’re a good basketball player. Via the Boston.com:

After Thursday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown was informed that LeBron James selected him to his All-Star team, calling him “Jaylen Under-Appreciated Brown” on the TNT broadcast.

Brown raised his eyebrows at the recitation of James’s compliment and chuckled.

“That’s great,” Brown said. “To have one of — if not the — best player select you and point out some of the things you’ve been doing or some of the things he’s seen, is great. I appreciate him for that.”

Brown’s season deserves appreciation. The fifth-year wing — and first-time All-Star — is averaging 24.8 points per game on a tidy 49.8 percent shooting, including 38.9 percent from 3-point range. Brown started the season hot and has been one of the league’s best mid-range shooters while aggressively going to the basket. On Thursday, he worked his way to the free-throw line 16 times, making 11.

The Celtics haven’t stood out in the first half of this season. They are a modest 19-17 entering the All-Star break, which is the Eastern conference’s fourth best record. Not bad, but not as good as expected. A pair of key Celtics guards have played limited games so far: Kemba Walker 19, Marcus Smart 17. While Walker is active, Smart could return fairly soon after the break.

Chris Paul, Jaylen Brown, Harrison Barnes, George Hill and Dwight Powell receive NBA Cares honor

Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul and Dallas Mavericks forward-center Dwight Powell have received the 2019-20 End-of-Season NBA Cares Community Assist Award. This in recognition of their continued commitment to positively impacting their communities through sustained efforts over the course of the season, the NBA announced today.

This year’s end-of-season award recognizes five players whose exemplary work advanced social justice and provided COVID-19 relief and support, reflecting the longstanding passion of NBA players to give back to their communities and stand up for the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion.

The five recipients made concerted efforts throughout the 2019-20 season – which extended nearly a full calendar year including the league’s hiatus and restart – to leverage their platforms and voices to engage, empower and support different communities amidst the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic and social justice movement following continued incidents of racialized violence against Black men and women. Each winning player will receive $10,000 to their charity of choice, a donation from the NBA and Kaiser Permanente.

Heat eliminate Celtics in Eastern Conference Finals, advance to NBA Finals

Sunday night at the Disney NBA bubble in Florida, the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics 125-113, winning the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. The Heat advance to the NBA Finals, where they’ll face the Los Angeles Lakers. Game 1 of the Finals is Wednesday night on ABC TV.

Boston.com: The Celtics had a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Miami didn’t flinch. The Heat went on a 19-6 run to take a seven-point lead with just over four minutes remaining. They moved the ball with confidence and went back to their zone to reinvigorate themselves on the defensive end. Bam Adebayo led the way for Miami’s offense as it extended its lead to 12-points with three minutes left.

Boston.com:The Heat continued to ride that momentum, while Boston struggled to handle its opponent’s relentless energy. This series really came down to crunch-time execution, and that was the case again Sunday night. The Heat outscored the Celtics 35-17 over the final nine minutes of Game 6, leaving their final mark on the Eastern Conference Finals with authority.

Boston.com:The Celtics played great defense early in the fourth quarter, effectively slowing down the Heat, but their inability to close out games reared its head late. Miami exerted its dominance down the stretch as it did in all four of its Eastern Conference Finals wins, a fitting way to seal the deal in Game 6.

Boston Herald: “Though four Celtics scored at least 20 points, led by Jaylen Brown’s 26, they were unable to get the requisite stops. That especially was true where Adebayo and his rolls to the rim were concerned. The Celtics also missed a plethora of open shots down the stretch, with players like Gordon Hayward (5-for-12) and Kemba Walker (5-for-15) missing open layups. With the Celtics caught between his interior attack and the omnipresent threat of Miami’s shooters, the Heat put this one away with a 26-6 run in the fourth quarter that effectively squelched the Celtics’ season.

South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Sunday’s victory was powered by 32 points and 14 rebounds from Adebayo, as well as 22 points from Butler, 19 from Tyler Herro, 15 from Iguodala, 15 from Duncan Robinson and 13 from Goran Dragic. For the Celtics, there were 26 points from Jaylen Brown, 24 from Jayson Tatum, 20 from Marcus Smart and 20 from Kemba Walker.”

South Florida Sun Sentinel: “After going down six earlier in the fourth quarter, the Heat got a three-point play from Adebayo with 6:16 to play to go up 101-100. The counterpunching continued from there, with Celtics center Daniel Theis fouling out with 5:30 to play and the Heat then calling time out while up 104-102. A minute later, a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer put the Heat up 107-102. The Heat eventually made it a 26-6 run, for a 14-point lead. At one point, the Celtics went 3 1/2 minutes without a point. By then, it was time for the white flag from the Celtics.”

Celtics beat Heat in Eastern Conference Finals Game 5, 121-108

Miami Herald: “The Heat led the Boston Celtics by 12 points in the second quarter and never trailed in the first half of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. Miami, just one win away from the 2020 NBA Finals, was just two quarters away from completing its stunning run to the NBA’s championship series. In the third quarter, it all unraveled. A seven-point halftime lead swung into a 14-point deficit for the Heat and the Celtics, who blew double-digit leads in the first two games of the NBA Conference Finals, rallied to stave off elimination with a 121-108 win in Lake Buena Vista. Miami, which still leads the series 3-2, will have to wait until at least Sunday at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to clinch a spot its first NBA Finals since 2014.”

Boston.com: “Boston opened the game 1-for-12 from the floor, with eight of those attempts coming from deep. That five-plus-minute span also included three turnovers to highlight their discombobulated opening stint. No rhythm and a lack of effort rose to the surface, just as it had in their previous three losses. The Celtics’ struggle to win the battle in the paint stuck out in the first quarter as well, getting outscored 12-2 in that category over the game’s first 12 minutes. With the season on the line, Boston shot 25 percent in the first quarter. They were lucky to be down just seven at the half, but the Celtics didn’t give in and quickly turned things around after the break.”

LA Times: “We’re prideful. We want to do well. … Our deal was to come out and play, come out and compete and give it our best shot, and I thought we played pretty well in the second half, but we’re going to have do it again and again because of the position we’re in,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “…We’re trying to be our best. We care about competing. We care about representing our team and our organization well, and we care about each other. It’s why you compete.”

South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Tatum has been all over the place this series. Good. Bad. Dominant. Disappeared. But in that third quarter he scored 17 points and picked up his Celtics as they turned a seven-point halftime deficit into a nine-point lead. Brown has been more in and out than Tatum. But on Friday night with the Celtics season on the line he did everything necessary in scoring 28 points and making all the plays that mattered. “They started attacking, we stopped guarding,” Jimmy Butler said. “Never a good thing for us. After that it was all downhill.” So that was that. The game. The night. The thought the Heat could move as easily into the Finals as they had in dispatching Indiana and Milwaukee earlier in the playoffs. Did anyone really think this series would be like those?”

South Florida Sun Sentinel: “The Heat got 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Butler, 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Bam Adebayo, as well as 23 points from Goran Dragic and 20 from Robinson. “We’ll be ready to go on Sunday,” Butler said. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 31 points, supported by 28 from Brown… The Heat closed 7 of 36 on 3-pointers, the 19.4 percentage the Heat’s lowest of the postseason. But it also came after shooting 12 of 44 on threes in Game 3 and 10 of 37 from beyond the arc in Game 4. “Regardless of whether it’s going in or not,” Spoelstra said, “that can’t affect your commitment on the other side of the floor, and it felt like it did.” Robinson closed 3 of 11 on 3-pointers, the rest of his teammates 4 of 25.”

Jayson Tatum, Brad Stevens discuss Game 4 Celtics first half struggles vs. Heat

The Celtics dropped Game 4 to the Heat last night, and now trail 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Here’s Boston.com with quotes on head coach Brad Stevens and star forward Jayson Tatum:

The Celtics, who outscored the Heat by double digits in the first halves of Games 2 and 3, were sloppy from the get-go. Boston committed 11 turnovers in the opening 24 minutes, causing them to have their lowest first-half point total of the playoffs, and trailed the Heat 50-44 at halftime.

“I thought our first half we looked, for whatever reason, we didn’t look crisp,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told reporters after the game. “And obviously that showed itself in our shooting numbers. I thought we were lucky to be at 50-44 at halftime, to be candid.

“For whatever reason, our first half wasn’t as good as it’s been.”

Jayson Tatum failed to score in the first half, missing all six shots he took and failed to make it to the free throw line.

“I wasn’t aggressive enough,” Tatum said of his first half performance. “I didn’t score in the first half, that’s unacceptable. I know I have to play better. That’s what I’ll try to do.”

Turnovers also wrecked the Celtics in Game 4. They had 19, with six coming from Tatum, with four from Marcus Smart and another four from Jaylen Brown. The entire Heat team had just eight.

A positive for the Celtics is, they did step up nicely in the second half. They just need to put it all together for the length of a full game. Which has been tough against a Heat squad that the entire world clearly underestimated.

Sixers look bad in Game 2 loss to Celtics

On Wednesday, the Celtics put up a convincing 128-101 Game 2 win against the Sixers to take a 2-0 first round playoff series lead.

NBC Sports Philly:

The Sixers were up against the odds heading into their first round matchup against the Celtics. No Ben Simmons, a team that failed to gel all year long, and tough recent postseason history against the Celtics? Not ideal.

But no one could’ve predicted the absolutely listless effort they put forth on Wednesday night in the second game of the series.

After taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter, the Sixers were outscored by 29 points in the second and third quarters combined, and looked more like a lottery team than a playoff participant. The Celtics got whatever they wanted, and the Sixers looked helpless.

In the win for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum hit 8-of-12 from three-point range in finishing with 33 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kemba Walker scored 22 points. Jaylen Brown added 20, plus five rebounds.

For the Sixers, Joel Embiid put up 34 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Richardson scored 18. Tobias Harris grabbed 11 rebounds, but shot just 4-of-15 for 13 points.

Al Horford, coming off the bench, was not a factor.

A huge difference was three-point shooting. The Celtics hit 19-of-32, while the Sixers only hit 5-of-21.

Philly is without Ben Simmons, while Boston is missing Gordon Hayward.

Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram named NBA Players of the Week

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram have been named NBA Players of the Week, for games played December 23-29, 2019. With Brown as the Eastern conference Player of the Week and Ingram from the West.

It’s the first time in Brown’s four-year career he’s received Player of the Week honors.

Brown, 23, averaged a team-high 27.0 points on 62.2% shooting (57.9% 3-PT), 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal over three games at Toronto and at home against Cleveland and Toronto. He was the only Eastern Conference competitor to produce at least 25.0 points on 60.0% shooting throughout the week.

The fourth-year forward reached the 30-point mark in both of Boston’s victories, including a career-high 34-point performance on 13-of-20 shooting (5-10 3-PT) against the Cavaliers on Dec. 27. Brown scored 30 points (76.9% FG) the previous game on Christmas Day in Toronto, marking the first time in his career he’s produced 30+ points in consecutive games.

Brown is the first Celtics player to receive Player of the Week honors since guard Isaiah Thomas did so in Feb. of 2017.

In 27 games this season (all starts), Brown is averaging 20.6 points (51.8% FG, 40.0% 3-PT), 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 33.6 minutes played. He’s one of four NBA players averaging at least 20.0 points on 51.0% shooting in 2019-20, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns and DeMar DeRozan.

Ingram helped lead New Orleans to a 4-0 week while averaging 25.3 points on .493 shooting from the floor, including .542 from three-point range and a perfect 1.000 from the free throw line, as well as 7.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals. The fourth-year pro finished the week ranked fourth in the NBA in total points scored (101), was one of four players to average at least 25.0 points while shooting over .450 from the field and over .500 from three-point range (of the four, Ingram held the highest FT%), and was one of just two players in the NBA to average at least 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals. Ingram led the Pelicans in scoring three out of their four games, and assists twice. On Christmas Day, Ingram connected on a career-high seven three-pointers at Denver, setting a new NBA Christmas Day record for three-point field goals by an individual.

Ingram becomes the eighth player in franchise history to earn Player of the Week honors, joining Baron Davis, Jamaal Magloire, Chris Paul, David West, Greivis Vasquez, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. It is the first time in Ingram’s career he has earned Player of the Week honors.

In 30 games this season, Ingram is averaging 25.3 points (10th in NBA), 7.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.0 steals.

Jaylen Brown annoyed by Game 3 effort

The Celtics played two great games vs the Cavaliers in their Eastern Conference Finals series. Then came Game 3. Here’s Boston.com reporting:

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was unimpressed with his team’s — and his own — effort against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the conference finals.

“I thought it was embarrassing,” the 21-year-old said during a light practice at Quicken Loans Arena Sunday. “The way we came out, the way I played.”

Brown — who scored 13 and 14 points in the opening quarters of Games 1 and 2, respectively — finished with just 10 points in Game 3. The Cavaliers constituted a pointed effort to limit him, particularly during the first quarter.

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