Celtics’ Jaylen Brown: ‘We Gotta Figure Out How To Win In Different Ways’

The Celtics have faced their fair share of adversity this season, and it’s become clear that their path to the top of the East isn’t going to be as smooth as last year’s championship run.

After Friday’s 17-point loss to Sacramento, Jaylen Brown opened up about the struggles Boston has encountered recently.

“Teams have adjusted to how we kind of played early in the season and we’re making adjustments back,” Brown said, via Brian Robb of MassLive. “We’ve gotta be better at protecting the basket and we gotta figure out how to win games in different ways. I think that we’ve been injured for a good majority part of the year.

“Now a lot of our guys are all healthy all on the same floor at the same time, so just figuring that rhythm out. So, like I said, I believe in this group. We’re going to figure it out.”

It’s been a far cry from the Celtics’ dominant start to the season, where they seemed to cruise through their first few months. But after a rough stretch of 8-7 over their last 15 games, including Friday’s disappointing loss, the team is now facing an uphill battle to hold onto the second seed in the East.

And though Friday’s game marked just the third time Boston has been fully healthy all season, the team’s rhythm still seems off.

One of the biggest adjustments has been incorporating Kristaps Porzingis into the fold. After missing the start of the season due to offseason surgery, Porzingis, along with Jayson Tatum, has been trying to fit into the fast-paced style the Celtics often play.

But Robb points out that both big men tend to prefer a more methodical pace, and that’s been one of the areas where Boston has stumbled recently.

Still, Brown remains confident that the Celtics can turn things around, noting the talent and basketball IQ across the roster.

“It’s basketball at the end of the day and we got a bunch of talented and intelligent basketball minds,” Brown said. “We just have to think the game and I think just our pace has a lot to do with it, just get into our spacing, I think we posted a lot tonight and it kind of slowed things down. It kinda gets guys out of rhythm.

“We gotta keep the pace and keep everybody engaged, and I think how we get the ball up the floor, how we get to get to the corners and all that stuff has an effect on our offense.”

Despite the struggles, Brown remains optimistic. The Celtics’ offense, which has looked disjointed at times, is still capable of hitting its stride.

But it will take some fine-tuning, more consistency, and, most importantly, getting back to their fast-paced, high-intensity style. The talent is there, but the execution will need to catch up if they want to make a deep playoff run.