On CJ McCollum's podcast, Jaylen Brown thinks a Cs Finals trip is a lock
On a recent edition of CJ McCollum's "Pull Up" podcast, Brown was asked if he thought the Celtics would make the NBA Finals. His response? "Oh, we’re getting to the Finals. No question about it."
It's hard to blame Jaylen, given Boston pushed LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers hard last year despite being down multiple impact players to injury, and we have yet to see which Kawhi Leonard shows up to play for the Toronto Raptors while the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks have not made any significant moves in the offseason.
Whether that turns out to be a fact or figment depends as much on internal chemistry and growth as much as external factors, but with James now on the Los Angeles Lakers, there's one less obstacle to contend with - but don't bring that up with Brown, who said on the matter: "I hate how everybody's like, 'Oh, LeBron's gone in the East,'. I know he did have a stronghold on the East for the last seven years, but he barely got up out of there this year."
For Brown, what matters isn't the uncontrollables, but rather, the opposite:
"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if we are the favorite in the East or if we're predicted to win 10 games in the East. You've got to come out and play. Simple. But at the same time, the expectation levels are there and we have expectation levels for ourselves."
Brown is saying exactly the things we'd want to hear from a young wing with big expectations - possibly unreasonable ones - laid on his shoulders after making a significant jump in overall abilities from his freshman to sophomore seasons. Hearing he's been in the gym everywhere he goes over a well-heeled summer should hopefully relax concerns he's putting his focus where it shouldn't be - especially his reported focus on free-throw shooting.
He has a lot more to say on a host of issues from gambling in the NBA, his peers' social engagement with important issues and charity all the way down to videogames, so if you haven't heard it, be sure to check it out.
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