The Boston Celtics played some of their best basketball we’ve seen all season in Game 2 against the 76ers. And the catalyst, the face of the dominance, was Jaylen Brown.

Focused and intense from the jump, Brown set the tone early at both ends of the court. It started on defense, where Brown called for the whole team to simply play harder, and it all flowed from there. The Celtics did everything they set out to do in Game 2 – re-commit to threes, take care of the ball, and defend harder – and Brown was at the center of it. He was their identity.

You could see it. You could feel it. Most importantly, they felt it.

“I thought [Brown] did a great job getting us started with his defensive presence,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “It passed down to [Marcus] Smart, to Grant [Williams], to Al [Horford], to everybody. I thought we just had a defensive presence about us, and that led to our offense, and we did a great job just playing great, fluid offense throughout the game.”

• Brown certainly made his contributions at the offensive end, to put it lightly. He led the team with 25 points, with shooting percentages of .529/.500/1.000. But Brown was more concerned about the defensive intensity than anything else, and in channeling that through the whole team across all 90 feet of hardwood. It was important to him to practice what he preached.

  “I think we’ve just got to take more pride in ourselves, that’s it,” Brown said after the game. “I just felt like we underperformed last game, and we wanted to come out and play to the best of our ability, and that’s what we did.

  “Just embracing the challenge and coming out and setting the tone on defense is going to be key. We’re going to need each and every guy on our team to embrace those challenges.”

• 

  May 3, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden (1) is fouled by Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the first quarter during game two of the 2023 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

• Which brings us to the hard part. What about Jayson Tatum? He may be the Celtics’ “best player,” their most gifted scorer, their most dynamic talent at a position where champions usually reside. But should he be their leader? Their tone-setter? Their identity?

  Wednesday night was powerful evidence that Brown should be the team’s real identity. Call him the Kevin Garnett to Tatum’s Paul Pierce. It’s not necessarily a knock on Tatum. It just feels like the hard, honest truth.

  It’s an allusion to Pierce’s performance, both pre- and post-Garnett. Pierce didn’t even make the NBA Finals, let alone win Finals MVP, until Garnett came over and transformed the Celtics’ culture. Garnett was at best the second scoring option at that stage of his career, but he made a massive difference by motivating the team to embrace challenges, to rise to his level of intensity, to play tough defense.

  It’s almost like when Garnett came to Boston in 2007 that … the energy shifted.

• 

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 03: James Harden #1 of the Philadelphia 76ers defends Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the first quarter of game two of the Eastern Conference Second Round Playoffs at TD Garden on May 03, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• Wednesday night felt like the latest energy shift for the Celtics, and it’s not necessarily because Tatum was stapled to the bench amid foul trouble and a blowout win. If the Celtics are going to break through and win it all, they’ll still need Tatum to score at a high level, and often do it in the biggest moments.

  But Tatum doesn’t need to be the tone-setter. He doesn’t need to lead everything from himself down. He doesn’t need to be the identity of the team. He just needs to embrace his role as the star scorer. Let Brown be the energy shifter.

  It may be the only dynamic that will actually lead them where they want to go.

• LISTEN: Marcus Smart Joins 98.5 After Celtics Blowout Win

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  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.

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