The Cleveland Cavaliers were supposed to rule the Eastern Conference this season, while the Boston Celtics had a decimated roster. After Jaylen Brown had a triple-double in a 117-115 Celtics victory, Boston is 2-0 against Cleveland and only a half-game back in the standings.
Boston has lost Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet from their 2024 title team, while Jayson Tatum is out with an Achilles tear. The other Celtics are stepping up, with Payton Pritchard putting up 42 points Sunday.
Jaylen Brown is keeping Boston’s offense elite
Even after all their personnel losses, the Celtics have the NBA’s No. 5 offense based on offensive rating. Much of that is due to Brown, who is averaging 28.4 points, the best mark of his career. His three-point shooting is up to 34.7 percent (32.4 percent last season), and he’s shooting nearly 50 percent overall.
The key is, he’ll adjust his game to what the Celtics need. Brown’s shot wasn’t falling Sunday, as he was 3-of-13 from the field. So Brown got to the foul line for 16 free throws, and distributed the ball, finishing with 11 assists. In the fourth quarter, he had three assists and zero field-goal attempts. He also crashed the boards, grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter as the Celtics hung with the Cavaliers by out-rebounding them.
One other smart move? Getting the ball to Pritchard, who had 15 points in the final quarter while holding off a frantic Cavs comeback. He was 4-of-5 from the field and made all six of his free throws in the final two minutes.