NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 16, 2020

Jaylen Brown

Boston Celtics

Practice Day

Q. Duncan Robinson got in early foul trouble. Did that maybe throw you guys off when they had to go to Tyler? You were so locked in defensively early. Was that just a weird thing that might have thrown you guys off a little bit?

JAYLEN BROWN: No. I think we've got a lot of improvements to make on defense. I think we'll make them tomorrow, to answer your question.

Q. Yesterday we got the news about the Breonna Taylor settlement for $12 million, but still seeking justice. What is your response to the news and what do you want to see moving forward with that situation?

JAYLEN BROWN: To be honest, I've been disconnected from the rest of the world. I have not seen or heard the news. Can you fill me in?

Q. Yeah, basically what's going to happen is they are going to award her family $12 million and then will give a full announcement on whatever is going to happen next. Some other reforms are going to happen, but we still haven't gotten the news the cops will be arrested.

JAYLEN BROWN: Where will the $12 million be coming from?

Q. From the city. So taxpayer money.

JAYLEN BROWN: Okay. Appreciate you for sharing that news.

I'm not sure if that makes me feel any better or worse about the situation. I think the Breonna Taylor situation represents not just her and her family but other people who have fallen victim to kind of the system that has been orchestrated to keep black and brown people oppressed. I guess that is a great step for Breonna Taylor and her family, but it's also more of a thing that needs to be changed.

I think that "reform" is a word that we use a lot and we want to constantly see reform, but we've been saying that for a long time, to be honest. We've been saying it for years. If I wanted to reform my house, I might upgrade my kitchen. I might change my garage. I might even do something outside. But it doesn't change -- the house is still the same.

So I think we need to start using different words other than reform because reform is not the right energy, I think, that we are trying to convey. I think that if we use "create," "dismantle" and things like that, words that we should maybe use because it's obvious that this incrementalism in this system has just been stringing us along.

Year after year after year, reform has been a topic of conversations and some of the same things have happened. Black people are still getting killed in their houses, in their backyards, outside of places that they spend time at. Reform is not the word. So we need to find a new word.

Q. We all know the list of cases is a mile long. What is it about Breonna? What is it about that story that seems to speak so loudly to NBA players? It seems like that's the name we've heard the most.

JAYLEN BROWN: We have moms. We have sisters, nieces, aunties. And just like men of color have experienced traumatic instances, so have women.

That is an example of some things that happen to women in our country. So we wanted to stand alongside them, but also make it that it's not just us. I think the future is female, so it's important to show our sisters that we care. That's why it's been important.

I feel like, for NBA players to continue to show that -- and also be able to talk to her mom. We had a Zoom call right before the bubble started. We got to talk to her mom and hear her voice and hear her cry. That kind of triggered everybody, listening to a mom who just lost her baby.

The strength that she had during that phone call, it definitely spoke to me. She didn't cry during that call. She didn't even complain. She was just, in a sense, happy that somebody cared that something happened to her little girl. It's sad, because everybody should care. It shouldn't be something that certain people shouldn't because it's political. You know what I mean?

At the end of the day, somebody lost their life who didn't deserve to lose their life. That's what it comes down to. So it's not even an NBA thing. It shouldn't be. You should care, too.

Q. Appreciate you saying that. I wanted to go back to the first game, the defense, you said it was going to improve for the next game. Brad Stevens said it was stagnant offense that led to laziness in transition defense. Do you agree with that?

JAYLEN BROWN: Yes, Brad's right on the money with that one. I think we need to improve. I don't think yesterday was the best example of Celtic basketball. We have to get back to what we do best. We got away from that and whatever reason -- fatigue or whatever you want to call it -- it's no excuses. We're in the Eastern Conference Finals and we have to get back to doing what we do best. I think we will.

Q. Down the stretch, you were stuck in the corner. You didn't get the ball a lot. What can guys do offensively down the stretch to do more, using you as an option -- it seems like it was Jayson and Kemba in iso going against three guys?

JAYLEN BROWN: We talked about that. I think just making adjustments in this game. In other games, it's been different. In other games, it hasn't been different. Just continuing to make adjustments. I trust what Brad is going to do. I trust what our guys do when they have the ball in their hands. We've just got to make the right decisions and play together as a team. I think that will happen.

I think tomorrow will be a different game. We all just got to be ready to play basketball. We've got a great organization, a great coaching staff and we've got great players. So we've just got to go out and make it happen. That's it.

Q. What did you take from last night? Do you feel like you let one slip away? Did you learn a lot from last night's game about them, having not played them full strength in so long?

JAYLEN BROWN: Yeah, I think we did. I think we learned about us, too. At times, we let go of the rope. We had a pretty good lead. We maybe got away from some of the things that led us to that lead. To continue to play basketball the way we want to play basketball is something we have to continue to make an emphasis regardless of the score. I feel like we'll get back to playing Celtic basketball.

Q. How do you assess from a communication standpoint on defense? I know it's tough in terms of when you're supposed to switch, but just looking back at it, where do you guys think you can do better there?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just be better. I don't know how to say it other than that. Just be better than what we were yesterday.

Q. How does fronting and denying and switching and not allowing them to get down toward the paint different against Miami than it was in the previous round?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just a different team. That's it. Miami is just a different team. They have a lot of guys that cut and stuff like that. Toronto was more physical. Miami is physical, but in a different way. Just a different team. I don't really have a comparison for it. I'm not really focused on Toronto. I'm focused on Miami. We just have to be able to adjust. That's it.

Q. I know Bam will get a lot of attention for that weakside block at the end of the game, but how unique is his ability to defend perimeter players at his size and how tough does it make it when he can switch on any guy in the perimeter and try to stay in front of him?

JAYLEN BROWN: It's great. Bam is a great player. Really carved out a space for himself in this league. Bam is set up for how the league is moving forward: big, athletic, can do multiple things. I just tip my cap to the play he made. But we'll be ready for the next game. That's it.