Tom Westerholm: Jaylen Brown was asked about the locker room after the loss: “I don’t even know how to answer that. Like everybody knows what we wanted to do, and we didn’t do it. I guess you can imagine how we feel, right?”
Jaylen Brown Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: F
Born: 10/24/96
Height: 6-7 / 2.01
Weight:225 lbs. / 102.1 kg.
Salary: $6,534,829
Born: 10/24/96
Height: 6-7 / 2.01
Weight:225 lbs. / 102.1 kg.
Salary: $6,534,829
Tim Reynolds: Enormous credit to the disappointed USA players who came out and talked to us tonight — Kemba, Donovan, Joe Harris, Harrison Barnes, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, I might be missing some, and no one ducked requests. First class.
The descriptions of Kemba Walker from three of his Team USA mates, who just happen to be Celtics, make clear they’re drawing a comparison, even if they didn’t realize it. “He fits in perfectly. Everything that Brad envisions as players, (Kemba) has it,” said Marcus Smart, referring to Boston coach Brad Stevens. “I didn’t know how down to Earth and how humble he was,” Jaylen Brown said. “He’s really humble, and a guy like that you always want to be around because he gives off good energy,” Smart added. “I think that resiliency that he carries will fit Boston’s personality very well,” Brown continued.
Playing significant minutes at power forward in Tatum’s place and even playing occasionally at center, Brown’s flexibility and intensity have been a needed injection. “I feel like I’m not a position player, I’m a basketball player. 4-3-2, whatever coach needs me to do, I will make the adjustment,” Brown said. “Obviously with Jayson out, there’s a little more opportunity and maybe it was a little more visible. But every time I take the floor, I want to be aggressive.”
Brown is sometimes quiet, but he’s not meek. That attitude has been positive this summer. “Chemistry is built when you hit adversity together and you’ve got to push through it,” Brown said. “We’ve been challenged multiple times on this trip. We started Aug. 4 and now it’s Sept. 10. We’ve seen a lot together.”
“Well he’s a strong player,” Popovich said. “For his size and strength he moves well, and he will penetrate. He can catch and pull it. Get to the rim. And he’s unselfish and finding other people. He’s just kind of an all-around player. He has stepped in and given us good minutes at both ends of the floor for sure.”
The teams didn’t have the traditional postgame handshake. USA coach Gregg Popovich gathered his team on the floor to allow the Greeks to leave so the two teams wouldn’t meet in the tunnel. “Yeah, I said something to Giannis. Well, Giannis said something to me,” Jaylen Brown said. “But we’ve got bigger fish to fry. So we move on.”
