Jaylen Brown battled through illness to star in the Boston Celtics’ 108-89 win over the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Monday night. After the game, Brown was asked in his press conference how important it was for him to set the tone for his team by showing that he was willing to play through adversity.
“Whatever the case is, I try to always be there as a leader for our group to make myself available,” Brown said. “… Trying to miss as little games as possible is important for our group… Even when you’re not feeling well, to show that you’re still available, I think kinda sets the tone for your team to have the same type of mindset.
“These games matter, even though we’re in December, (and) we want to play into late June, these games matter,” Brown added. “So, I just had to push through it.”
This game against the Heat was the second of a back-to-back for the Celtics, who lost 115-111 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. With that in mind, Brown was also asked how he deals with tough back-to-backs and the NBA life in general.
“It’s a part of the journey,” Brown stated. “Back-to-backs, it’s not like just the Celtics got to play them, everybody in the whole league (has to). It’s no different. I think we just have a mindset that we come out and play good basketball, put our best foot forward—whoever is out there—as a team.
“Some of those moments are the adversity,” Brown continued. “Back-to-backs are tough to get your body, your mind, everything ready depending on the flights, extent of the injuries but as you are looking to do something special, those are the moments you gotta kinda accept. It’s hard for teams to be great if some of their best players never play back-to-backs.”
Brown, who had 29 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal against the Heat, wasn’t taking a shot at anyone at the end there, but he made a good point. For teams to become great, they need their stars to be in the lineup consistently. One too many of them aren’t, though, with Joel Embiid, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Kawhi Leonard being notable examples.
Embiid even announced before the start of the season that he wouldn’t play back-to-backs for the rest of his career. The Philadelphia 76ers superstar later stated that he would probably play at some point but it remains to be seen if he will.
Both the Celtics and the 76ers were regarded as serious title contenders coming into this season, but only one has lived up to expectations. The 76ers aren’t that one, as Embiid and George missing much of the start of this 2024-25 campaign has led to them being down at 14th in the East with a 4-14 record.
The Celtics, meanwhile, are second in the East with a 17-4 record and have their stars being out there on the court to thank for that. The defending champions have won eight of their last nine games and will look for another when they take on the Detroit Pistons next at TD Garden on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET.
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