Jaylen’s All-Defense quest among top Celtics-Thunder storylines

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Jaylen’s All-Defense quest among top Celtics-Thunder storylines originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics host the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night in what is almost undeniably the biggest game remaining on the team’s regular-season schedule.

With Boston essentially locked into the No. 2 seed in the East, there shouldn’t be a lot of drama around the final 16 games. There’s plenty to work on before the postseason arrives, but the Thunder game feels like one of the last opportunities to see the Celtics go full throttle against a legitimate title contender.

So here are four questions we’re pondering before a marquee matchup that checks all the boxes for the “potential Finals preview” designation:

Can Jaylen carve a path to All-Defense vs. SGA?

When the Celtics played the Thunder in early January, Brown logged 42.6 percent of all defensive time spent on MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His six minutes, 30 seconds of matchup time was three times more than any other Boston defender.

Gilgeous-Alexander tallied nine points on tidy 4-of-5 shooting against Brown, per NBA tracking. But Gilgeous-Alexander was also more likely to move the ball against Brown than any other Boston defender, with Oklahoma City’s relentless driver routinely attacking any time anyone else was in front of him.

Here’s why it matters: Brown hasn’t been bashful in noting his All-Defense desires. He felt like he got snubbed a year ago. Now, it feels like Wednesday’s showdown is another chance to make a defensive statement.

This matchup comes just days after a national audience watched Brown pick up right where he left off in the NBA Finals while harassing Luka Doncic for much of Boston’s win over the rival Lakers on Saturday night.

Brown’s base defensive numbers this season don’t leap off the page. He is holding his opponents to 46.4 percent shooting, or 0.5 percent below expected output. Last season, when teammates were openly stumping for Brown for All-Defense consideration, those numbers were at 44.8 percent overall and 2.4 percent below expected.

The case for Brown…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/jaylens-defense-quest-among-top-100454368.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2025-03-12 10:04:00

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