Getty Malcolm Brogdon #13, Boston Celtics
In the closing seconds of the third quarter between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks on January 5, Malcolm Brogdon passed the ball over to Grant Williams, who took the halfcourt heave that eventually missed. After that, Derrick White’s dad, Richard, took a playful jab at Brogdon on Twitter for apparently being unwilling to take halfcourt heaves at the buzzer.
“Brogdon never taking a heave,” White tweeted.
Brogdon never taking a heave.
White’s not entirely off here. For example, Brogdon shot and made a halfcourt heave against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 13, 2022, but he didn’t take it until after the buzzer sounded.
It makes sense why players like Brogdon don’t take shots like that. Not only is it not likely that shots like those go in, but when they miss, they negatively affect their field goal percentage, which can make them look worse as shooters than they actually are.
Against the Mavericks, Brogdon finished the night with 15 points, four assists, and three rebounds while shooting four-for-eight from the field and three-for-five from three.
Brogdon Talks About Improvement From Thunder Game
Before taking on the Mavericks, the Celtics were coming off a humiliating defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 3, where they lost 150-117, and the Thunder pulled off such a lopsided win without their best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After the game, Brogdon admitted the Celtics took it easy because of Gilgeous-Alexander’s absence.
“We took a deep breath and relaxed. Honestly, we should know better than to come out and not play with aggression, not play with energy and urgency,” Brogdon said.
After the Celtics defeated the Mavericks, Brogdon delved into how that loss to the Thunder was a wake-up call for the team and how it impacted their play against the Mavericks during his postgame interview with Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston.
“I think it speaks to our maturity,” Brogdon said. “I think some nights like OKC, our maturity lets us down a little bit, but, when we play the best, we really do beat the best. We bring our best performances against them, but we gotta do this consistently night in and night out.”
“Once again we proved we can beat the best but we’ve got to do it consistently”
Malcolm Brogdon caught up with @tvabby after the win
Coming into the game, the Mavericks had won seven straight games and hadn’t lost at home since losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 14, 2022. By winning both of their games against the Mavericks, the Celtics have now swept their season series against their Western Conference foe, which marks the first time they’ve done that since the 2019-20 season.
Brogdon Praises Jayson Tatum
During his postgame interview, Brogdon praised Tatum for both his poise and leadership and how that has helped him become an MVP candidate this season.
“I think he’s taken a huge jump from last year. I thought he had a great year (and) was a great player last year, but he’s an MVP this year. His poise, he had like four points in the first quarter. He never gets raddled. He never gets rushed. He never gets panicked for points or stats. He lets the game come to him. He’s a great player, and we’re following his lead,” Brogdon said.