Following the Boston Celtics’ 130-104 preseason victory over the Denver Nuggets at the 2024 NBA Abu Dhabi Games, Jaylen Brown spoke with Fadeaway World.
He gave amazing insight into how he understands his opponents’ rhythms to be as good a defender as possible.
“You need to study the game, conduct extensive research, and watch a lot of basketball. You may learn a lot by observing specific males and their movements and habits. Although each person is unique and unique, you start to see these things more and more the more you study and conduct research.”
Brown most recently made an appearance on “Hot Ones with Sean Evans,” a popular YouTube show hosted by First We Feast. When Evans questioned Brown about protecting Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic in the NBA Finals, Jaylen elaborated on the rhythmic qualities of both players’ play and discussed the parallels between music and basketball.
People’s playing has a cadence and a beat. Some males have a distinct beat, cadence, and flair when they play. Knowing their style can help you anticipate their next move because you will be aware of their rhythm and BPM.”
“Doncic’s Luka has a distinct beat. It is difficult to time because it is nearly so sluggish. Kyrie has a very distinct rhythm as well. It’s quite difficult to time his cadences and movements. His ability to fire with both hands, drive in both directions, and have a large number of counters makes it difficult to follow his rhythm.
“Some players only go to the right, some only to the left, and some players have two directions they can go. Therefore, I see basketball as music—poetry—in motion. Each person is performing their own song. Everyone uses various artists’ samples. You must learn to read their rhythm and recognise when their beat is about to drop if you hope to stop them.
It’s likely due to his ability to read the game like this that Jaylen Brown is regarded as one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders at the moment. I recently polled NBA fans on social media to find out who they think is the finest “Luka Stopper,” and Brown was frequently mentioned.
For the Celtics to win the Finals, he had to be able to understand Luka’s movements and endure them. This was especially important because the Celtics’ team defence made sure that Doncic could not find any open players.
Despite facing Brown, Luka was still able to score freely and effectively, averaging 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists throughout the series. However, Brown made it difficult for Luka to become comfortable shooting threes by primarily guarding him one-on-one, which is something most teams are uncomfortable doing with Doncic.
Brown kept up and now has a Finals MVP trophy to admire at home.
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