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Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown entering very own ‘playoff’ mode

By Jason Haskins

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 21: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers in game four of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 21, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - APRIL 21: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers in game four of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 21, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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It will be all hands on deck when the Boston Celtics open up action in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This includes Jaylen Brown and matching last year’s playoff production.

A roller coaster of a regular season, in which the Boston Celtics had six less wins in 2018-19 than the season prior, had fans waiting for the roster to cohesively play at the top of their game. Slowly, but surely, things have started to come together, culminating in a 4-0 sweep over the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

Kyrie Irving has taken over command of the floor., “Playoff” Al Horford arrived a little early this season and has continued to play well in multiple areas, and Gordon Hayward has finally found a groove as he averaged 12.3 points off the bench in the first round.

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Hayward also has averaged 16.4 points over his last ten games, shooting 58.5 percent in that span.

But it might be “Playoff” Jaylen Brown who provides the extra spark. (I don’t know if we can just assign the “playoff” moniker to all players when playoff mode is engaged, but I’m going to try.)

In a season in which Brown struggled out of the gates before settling into his role off of the bench, Brown again became supercharged once the playoffs rolled around.

Back in the starting lineup due to the injury to Marcus Smart, Brown flexed his muscles on both ends of the court. It took him two games to get going offensively, but once he did the results were similar to what we saw last season.

Brown scored 23 points in a Game 3 victory, shooting 88.9 percent from the field. In four games in the playoffs, Brown is averaging 11 points and 6.8 rebounds and is shooting 58.6 percent from the field.

More of this will be needed to take down the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals.

Building off last year’s playoffs

A year ago, the Boston Celtics were without their top-two offseason acquisitions in Hayward and Irving when the playoffs rolled around. That left it up to young stars like Brown, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier to step up their game.

Brown’s play last year was a big reason the Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference finals. Even with missing one game and only playing 16 minutes in another, Brown scored 18 points per game.

He shot a more-than-respectable 52 percent from the field and connected on 39.3 percent of his three-point attempts.

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Brown also had some of his best games of last year’s playoffs in Boston’s seven-game series victory over the Bucks.

Outside of exiting Game 7 early and only scoring two points, Brown averaged just over 20 points per game against Milwaukee. He also had two instances of scoring 30 or more.

He may not be required to put for this type of scoring effort this season, but if Boston is going to win the series, scoring 15-20 points per game would be nice.

With Smart still out, Brown will also be needed to excel on the defensive side of the court. Locking down the perimeter will hopefully take some of the pressure off of the guys tasked with guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Boston Celtics: 3 regular season goals for Jaylen Brown in 2018-19. dark. Next

It’s not all on how Brown performs, but without the expectations of carrying this team on his shoulders, he should have the confidence to fly high in this round.

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