Ime Udoka critical of Celtics star Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown has looked like an MVP candidate in two games this season and done a disappearing act in the other two, and that has clearly been a source of frustration for head coach Ime Udoka.
Brown scored 13 points in 37 minutes in Boston’s 116-107 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. He went just 5-of-16 shooting. After the game, Udoka called it “mind boggling” that Brown plays so well some nights and seems disinterested other times.
“I’m trying to ramp him up during the game, pump him up to get going,” Udoka said, via Jay King of The Athletic. “But the contrast of some of those previous games, especially Charlotte and the New York game and the way you see him come out tonight is kind of mind boggling.”
Brown has played in four of the Celtics’ five games this season. His scoring outputs are as follows: 46, 9, 30, 13. While the sample size is small, he has certainly been inconsistent.
It’s worth noting that the Celtics may have hired Udoka in part because of Brown. Some might be surprised to see the new head coach challenge one of his best players this early in the season, but Udoka probably has a strong relationship with Brown. He’s probably trying to motivate him to take his game to the next level, which Brown has shown he has the ability to do.
