Speaking to reporters during a media session on Saturday, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd referred to Jaylen Brown as the Celtics‘ “best player” when asked about the challenges of facing the Boston wing (Twitter video link).
“Well, Jaylen’s their best player,” Kidd said. “So just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka (Doncic) full court, he got to the free throw line, he did everything. That’s what your best player does.”
You could certainly make a case that Brown has been the Celtics’ best player in this postseason — his 24.8 points per game during the playoffs rank slightly behind Jayson Tatum‘s 25.3 PPG, but he has got his points far more efficiently, shooting 54.3% from the floor and 36.6% on three-pointers, compared to 43.8% and 29.9% for Tatum.
Still, the general consensus is that Tatum – who has also averaged a team-high 10.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in the postseason – is Boston’s best player, so Kidd’s comments raised some eyebrows. While they may reflect his honest opinion, it’s hard not to read Kidd’s praise of Brown as an attempt at gamesmanship, given that the relationship between the two Celtics stars has been a popular topic of speculation among outsiders over the years.
Here’s more on the NBA Finals, with Game 2 on tap for Sunday:
- Given how well the Celtics played in Game 1 with Kristaps Porzingis coming off the bench, head coach Joe Mazzulla will face an interesting decision on whether to return the big man to his spot in the starting lineup on Sunday, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. As Robb notes, Boston played its best basketball with Porzingis on the court and could still manage his minutes over the course of the night if he starts. However, the team has gone 10-1 with Al Horford as its starting center during the playoffs and is riding an eight-game winning streak, so Mazzulla may not want to mess with what’s working.
- Despite Mazzulla saying prior to Game 1 that Porzingis had no minutes limit, the big man told reporters on Saturday that he is in fact facing a minutes restriction (Twitter link via Souichi Terada of MassLive.com). Porzingis, who logged 21 minutes in Game 1, didn’t offer any specifics on that restriction.
- Porzingis’ presence represents a major problem for the Mavericks, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who says the Celtics’ floor-spacing centers essentially neutralized the impact of Dallas big men Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively, who had to chase Porzingis and Horford out to the perimeter rather than hanging back and protecting the rim. As Townsend points out, Gafford and Lively combined for just 10 points, eight rebounds, and no blocks on Thursday, while Porzingis and Horford totaled 30 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.
- Doncic and Kyrie Irving were unable to beat their defenders one-on-one in Game 1, which would’ve forced the Celtics to send help and created open shots for teammates, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. As a result, the two stars combined for just three assists, while the team as a whole had only nine. If that doesn’t change going forward and Doncic and Irving can’t do more in those one-on-one situations, it will likely be a quick series, Hollinger opines.
Who cares who the “best player” is on a good team.
Are we all 12 years old?
When your top 6 rotation players have all made 8 figure salaries this year, I agree, no one cares.
It especially makes no sense when:
-non starters on good teams play top 5 minutes. I follow GSW and Kevon Looney has made dozens of starts where he would play less than 15 minutes in the game, so how important is “starting” even really? Some NBA “starters” are used kinda like MLB’s “the opener”, that’s never considered in this kind of argument.
-the finals are won by who has the 6th, 7th and 8th best players, it’s not the best 1 v best 1 or even the best 5 v best 5. The team with the superior bench wins. The best team has the best “last man on the bench”.
Smart coach challenging a great player. Interesting chess move there Cotton.
Both great players. I think opposing teams tend to put more defensive focus on Tatum which makes Brown’s offensive course a little easier. Tatum is a better passer and sees the floor better. I will credit Brown’s growth as a team player this year as a big factor on why I think the Celtics will win.
Tatum will guard and do a similar job on luka as Brown in this series at some point. Unless mavs just fold and get waxed, don’t see that happening.
Brown deserves a ring, Tatum does not.
Thanks for clearing that up for everyone.
Our opponent saying Brown is better than Tatum is quite interesting.
Mind games. Outside noise been trying to drive a wedge between those two for years. I guess Boston should get Brown to defend someone else after Kidds words, pppfffttt. Tatum will be guarding luka as his primary defender at some stage though. As will Jrue, White etc. Work him over a entire series. Brown thrives off Tatum being no.1 on the scouting report. Who gets crucified in the media if Boston lose….Brown or Tatum? It’s a team game and Kidd wants it about individuals, bit odd.