Getty Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Following their June 13 loss, the Boston Celtics no longer hold any momentum in the NBA Finals, with the Golden State Warriors being just one win away from lifting a championship.
In what was a poor game from Boston, they allowed the Warriors to dictate the terms of engagement, and outside of an impressive third quarter, were consistently chasing the game. Golden State will do that to you, they will make you play their brand of basketball and punish you for doing so.
However, Jaylen Brown is seemingly confident in his team’s ability to flip this series on its head and is expecting his team to bounce back from their first back-to-back losses of the postseason. Speaking to the media during his June 13 post-game press conference, Brown issues a rallying cry to his teammates, telling them ‘they have no choice but to improve.
“I ain’t got no choice. We don’t have no choice. It’s win or go home at this point. We worked incredibly hard all season to put ourselves in this position. I still feel like we have so much more better basketball to play that we haven’t played in the last two games.
I’m hoping that the next two games we play Celtic basketball and put our best foot forward like I know we can. I know the city is going to be behind us. It’s going to be a big Game 6. Looking forward to it,” Brown told reporters after the game.
Al Horford Credits Golden State’s Defense
For a team that doesn’t boast a legitimate rim protector, the Warriors’ defense has stood strong, especially when Boston penetrates with an eye to pressuring the rim. In fairness, Golden State likes to pressure the ball up high, and funnel you towards a crowd, placing you into bad situations that can lead to turnovers or late shot-clock attempts.
The Celtics, for all of their good work at times, have regularly been falling into the Warriors trap – and now, heading into game six, they need to figure out how to get guys to their spots on offense. Al Horford echoed that sentiment during his June 13 post-game press conference, as he touched upon the Warriors’ impressive defense, and how they’re setting the terms on which Boston can attack.
“Yeah, I feel like almost playing into their hands, some of the things they want us to do, which is taking contested midrange shots and probably play a little faster than we want at times. So, you know, I feel like that’s part of the reason why our offense hasn’t been clicking like it needs to be,” Horford said.
Despite having two elite scoring wings, the Celtics shot just 41.3% from the field in game five, and an even worse 34.4% from deep, including an 0-for-12 start to the contest.
Jaylen Brown Struggles to Impress
Throughout the first four games of the NBA Finals, Jaylen Brown has been Boston’s most reliable offensive option. His ability to blow by his man, explode in space, and hit tough catch-and-shoot jumpers have all been enormous facts in Boston remaining competitive against a stern defense.
However, in the fourth quarter of a tightly-contested game, Brown regressed and began to play outside of his usual remit. Rather than waiting for the ball to find him, and picking his spots, the star wing went hunting for the ball and continually found himself running into traffic.
Jaylen Brown still can’t dribble without looking down. Handles are horrendous
Brown ended the fourth quarter with two turnovers, five points, and three rebounds – but he shot just 25% from the field. Worse still, he and Jayson Tatum combined for one-of-nine shooting as the Warriors raced to a commanding lead.
The Celtics have two days to figure out where things went wrong as they head back to Boston, at which point, on June 16, they find themselves in a win-or-go-home game six against a team that oozes championship know-how.
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