While playing two big men might not be the best plan against the Miami Heat given the double-digit deficit the Boston Celtics fell into in their 98-96 win vs. the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Friday (Feb. 6) evening, that likely says more about the Heat’s roster than it did about the fit of new Boston big man Nikola Vucevic’s fit with his new team.
The Montenegrin center played his first game for the Celtics in that win since being dealt from the Chicago Bulls to Boston for Anfernee Simons. And while that early deficit came about from a misguided pairing of bigs not, for the most part, involving Vooch, there were still some very visible bumps his integration sparked in need of ironing out. Speaking after the win, new teammate Jaylen Brown opened up about that dynamic. “I definitely want to find ways to maximize when he’s on the floor,” said Brown. “I think our guys are extremely unselfish, like everyone was looking for him, everybody’s trying to figure it out.”
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“It takes a little bit of time to build that chemistry,” he added. “But, we found a way to win the game, and that’s a good sign when you’re in the midst of figuring stuff out or not playing well, and find a way to win.”
Feb 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Nikola Vucevic defends Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
“I was trying to figure it out, probably overthinking it a little bit,” said Brown of what was going into those aforementioned bumps in need of ironing out. “It wasn’t my best game, I think I was just thinking too much, but it’ll flow.”
“I think we’ve done well, we were shooting … in the past, in history, so I think it’ll flow. So tonight, maybe because it was the first one, but I think we have a lot of room for improvement. So I’m looking forward to finding that sweet spot, but I think we don’t even have to force it. I think it’ll just flow naturally. I think his game fits in with our team well.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jaylen Brown on how Celtics integrated Nikola Vucevic in his debut