Getty Jaylen Brown, Anthony Edwards
During the Boston Celtics game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 10, Jaylen Brown was matched up with Anthony Edwards in the game’s closing minutes. Per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, Edwards did hit a shot while turning the ball over three times with Brown covering him.
During his postgame press conference, Brown talked about what his mindset was when he covered Edwards.
“My whole thing was ‘not tonight,’” Brown said, per CLNS Media Boston Sports Network’s YouTube Channel. “We can’t let him do what he’s been doing to everybody else, to us. Especially after the first matchup. I think he got the best of us in that first matchup, and tonight, we wasn’t having it. So any chance we can get a guy to turn him over, take ill-advised shots. He made some tough ones still but I thought we did a good on him as a team. But nah, I definitely was the snake on the head of that.”
The last field goal Edwards hit was at the 6:34 mark of the fourth quarter when he hit a three to give the Timberwolves a six-point lead. Edwards being mostly silenced by Brown played a part in the Celtics winning in overtime.
Jayson Tatum Praises Jaylen Brown’s Defense
After the Celtics beat the Timberwolves, Jayson Tatum praised Jaylen Brown for being up to the task of covering Edwards in crunchtime.
“(Brown) really just took the challenge,” Tatum said, per CLNS Media Boston Sports Network. “We’ve got a great memory. We remember playing those guys in Minnesota. We remember how it felt to lose that game and how the end of that game went. So we were really excited for this moment, and it was great to see JB take that challenge.”
Without Brown’s defense, Tatum’s season-high 45 points may have been all for naught. Both Tatum’s scoring and Brown’s defense played a pivotal role in how the Celtics came away with the win against the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
With Al Horford likely out against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 11, Brown and the Celtics will have another daunting challenge ahead when they face off against Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Jrue Holiday Lauds Jaylen Brown’s ‘Crazy’ Defense
Jayson Tatum wasn’t the only one who praised Jaylen Brown for his defensive efforts. Jrue Holiday also took note of how good Brown has been on that end overall.
“JB has been JB. Especially the last few games, he’s been going crazy defensively and guarding the best guard on the defensive end. Elite two-way player. To be able to do what he does on offense and go ahead and stop guys on the defensive end,” Holiday said, per CLNS Media Boston Sports Network’s YouTube Channel.
For Brown to get praise like that from someone like Holiday, who has made five NBA All-Defense teams, shows how much his defense has stood out. Brown has been typically renowned for what he does on the offensive end. His defense has never been called bad, but it hasn’t usually gotten the amount of attention that it has this season.
In the end, the Celtics’ aspirations for a title will somewhat hinge on Brown keeping this up for when they need it most.