Jaylen Brown Powers Celtics to Win Even Without Jayson Tatum

BOSTON — Will Hardy discussed the bind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown place on defenses before Monday’s Celtics-Jazz game. You can bring help or play them straight up, and since both developed as passers, both leave opponents second-guessing their strategy. Hardy saw it as Boston’s top assistant in 2022, and since becoming Utah’s head coach, he experienced the other side of it as Brown and Tatum’s offensive versatility expanded to championship level.

“There aren’t a lot of good choices,” Hardy said. “I think especially in a regular season game, one game, anything can happen. If it was a series, maybe you’d feel differently about playing something out a little longer and hoping the stats come back to where they should be. Because there are nights where you could get tripped either way. You could send help and they shoot it great, and you’re like, ‘man we shouldn’t have helped,’ or we could help with everybody tonight, and for whatever reason they could have a night where they miss 40 threes. It doesn’t mean it was necessarily the right choice. Playing a team like the Celtics is taxing in that way.”

Brown finished 8-for-20 with 26 points and eight assists, a strong night, though far from his best. That he utilized Sam Hauser on his career night allowed the Celtics to escape with a win. News following Hardy’s pre-game session that Tatum would miss the game, along with Al Horford (toe) and Kristaps Porziņģis (illness), the latter out for a sixth straight night, would’ve seemingly allowed the Jazz to sell out defending Brown, make less dangerous Celtics beat them and benefit from the absences. It’s not that easy against Boston.

Hauser emerging in the third quarter with a Celtics-record seven threes on his way to 9-for-19 from deep and a career-high 33 points. Utah did its job defensively — limiting Brown to 4-for-12 shooting and three assists in the first half — until a string of possessions where the Jazz left Hauser’s body cost them in the 114-108 loss.

The Jazz entered the night limited and on the second half of a back-to-back with a 15-50 record. Jordan Clarkson, Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen, among others, missed the game. They didn’t have the bodies, rest or talent to construct a plan to shut Brown down. Other more suited teams to defend straight-up may fare better, though Utah found the right mix of defending Brown one-on-one early by switching Walker Kessler to the perimeter with bringing late help around the rim. The latter killed them later where it worked early.

Brown committed a pair of turnovers in the first half, and the second only came when John Collins followed Isaiah Collier’s initial individual effort against Brown. They made Brown a scorer, and trailed by only six points at the half.

“Some of the core principles remain the same, because Jayson and Jaylen are both unselfish players and they have a lot of really good players on their team,” Hardy said. “There are certain teams in the NBA, when you prepare for them, you’re thinking about their star player, like this is the focus, and then everything else is secondary. When you play the Celtics, it’s about the holistic thing that they do. They generate a bunch of really good catch-and-shoot threes, they put pressure on the rim out of some perimeter isolation, they’re very good at attacking the switch, so it’s more conceptual when you play them, because they prove all the time, tonight’s another example, it doesn’t matter if Jayson and Jaylen play, or if it’s just one of them.”

The problem began for the Jazz in the second half. Collin Sexton chased down Hauser too late in transition on the third play of the third quarter, and Hauser bailed him out with a miss. Then, Sexton turned it over the other way, giving Hauser another open three in transition that he converted. Hardy told the Jazz to stay attached to Hauser, knowing his three-point prowess as well as he learned Brown’s skills while coaching the Celtics, but Johnny Juzang couldn’t resist stunting on Jrue Holiday away from Hauser. In a play that caught Hardy’s attention after the game, Hauser faked a back cut past Juzang and placed him further into no man’s land before stepping back into a movement three.

Hardy stressed the Hauser assignment in the following timeout and he still flared out of a screen into open space on the next play, escaping Collins’ defense. Luke Kornet’s rolling pressure pulled Collins away from the ball on Hauser’s following three. A turnover fed the next, and another followed a Brown-Neemias Queta handoff action in the half court. That freed Brown and Queta for scoring plays on the following two sets. Like Josh Hart said late last month, there’s too much to account for from even the Celtics’ second unit players.

“The person guarding the ball has to do a good job, because human instinct is, ‘I see Jaylen Brown driving the ball free, I go to help,'” Hardy said. “I thought there were moments where Sam benefited from Jaylen having a good initial attack, but I also thought there were some moments where off the ball, we just didn’t do a good enough job being physical with Sam … he doesn’t stand still, he moves, he cuts.”

That changed in the fourth, when Brown left the floor for the first five minutes, exacerbating the sometimes difficult stretch without Tatum to begin the final quarter. Utah slashed a 23-point Celtics lead to nine, and despite Brown returning with two scoring plays over three possessions, Brice Sensabaugh, Svi Mykhailiuk and Collins sparked an 8-for-9 frame from three. Boston gambled on the Jazz’ weaker shooters missing the other way, particularly Collins, who closed 3-of-5 late with a pair of threes.

Brown answered, using Hauser to pull Kessler from the paint. Then, with 93 seconds remaining, Brown returned to the bread-and-butter, beating Kessler’s switch himself with a two-handed slam that ended the game. But one that seemed to also shake up the already-battered Brown.

This year, the Celtics have won Brown and Tatum’s minutes by more than seven points per 100 possessions. Tatum alone managed +11.65 while Brown’s passing growth has allowed him to thrive at +9.37 without Tatum. Without both — Boston becomes mortal: +1.67. All the more reason to manage both down the stretch with the Celtics able to survive with one while needing both. But as Hardy mentioned, even White can score 40 points.

“Tonight, I thought there were moments where Derrick White’s isolations put us in some rotations,” Hardy said. “Jayson and Jaylen, they don’t make it about them.”