Jaylen Brown's trainer believes Boston Celtics rookie could develop 'deadly' mid-post game

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/09/jaylen_browns_trainer_boston_c.html



Jaylen Brown's trainer believes Boston Celtics rookie could develop 'deadly' mid-post game



Boston Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown played at the Utah Summer League. (AP Photo / Kim Raff)


Tom Westerholm | twesterh@masslive.com
Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on September 11, 2016 at 7:30 AM, updated September 11, 2016 at 7:34 AM





Jaylen Brown's trainer, Chris Johnson, recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about his life as an NBA player development coach.

The whole interview is interesting; for example, Johnson shared that All-Star Jimmy Butler, another client, wakes up at 5:30 every morning and already has his whole day planned out by then. To learn more about how NBA players work, read the full story. It provides interesting insight about the process, including how teams communicate with trainers to maximize a player's gains.

Below are a few notes from what Johnson said about Brown, the Boston Celtics' No. 3 overall pick.

-- It sounds like the Celtics work pretty closely with Brown's trainer to make sure their top rookie is focused on the right areas. The team has a system for coaches to work out (and hang out) with players throughout the summer, and actually spent a week with Brown and his trainer.

-- So what does Brown work on? A lot of things, of course, but Johnson said, "Footwork is the basic that I'm really focused on."

"For a kid like Jaylen, it's footwork," Johnson said. "Balance. His ability to play off the catch. His ability to get into an attack position and score efficiently off of one and two dribbles. You don't get a bunch of dribbles in the NBA. I also feel like Jaylen has an opportunity to be able to have a deadly mid-post game. Like other big guards -- right now Jimmy (Butler) is really deadly on his mid-post game."

To become "deadly" in the mid-post, Brown will need to become a better shooter from that range, which begins, like Johnson said, with the footwork. During summer league, Brown showed he can create a whole heap of separation with his moves, but he needs to do so while staying on balance and preparing himself for his shots.

-- In a lot of ways, Brown should probably want to develop like Butler. The Chicago Bulls All-Star shares some of the same physical traits -- impressive height, a strong build, great mobility for someone that size -- and has shown massive growth since he entered the NBA. Brown could do worse than looking up to such a hard worker, which is partly why Celtics fans loved seeing this video last week:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ8c6YcDTkP/


There's actually a pretty cool story for why Brown and Butler ended up training together on the sand. After winning an Olympic gold medal, Butler "summoned" Johnson and Brown to Cabo St. Lucas to work out and celebrate.

-- Of course, Brown hasn't won any gold medals yet. He hasn't played a single NBA game, which makes it tough to determine what role he will play for the Celtics this season. Despite the uncertainty, Johnson has tried to prepare Brown for whatever might come his way.

"We break it down," Johnson said. "Boston, I don't want to put it all out there, but you know they they drive in the slots. They're a hard slot-driving team. We need him comfortable in the pick-and-roll, whether it's side pick-and-roll, angle pick-and-roll, or slot pick-and-roll. We need him making corner threes. We take the concepts of what Boston already has in place, and I build that into Jaylen's sessions. So by the time he gets to training camp, he's very familiar with not only the positions that they're going to put him in, but he's got moves and counters that will make him more comfortable as an offensive player."

-- Before moving on with your life, check out the whole story. It's worth your time.

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/09/08/jimmy-butler-jaylen-brown-chris-johnson-bulls-celtics-nba-offseason




bob


.

As the season approaches, I am becoming very interested in watching this kids improvement. He is such an athletic specimen, and has a great attitude from everything I have read all summer long. He is spending alot of time with Jimmy Butler and Smart, so he wants to improve. The article yesterday about how the coaches each take on players during off season and go and work with each player, live with them, eat with them, pract with them, watch film, etc. A learning experience and a way to judge what needs to be worked on at training camp. No one is exempt from this. Horford spent time with one of the coaches, and they were thrilled with his attitude and excitement of joining the Celtics. This is the Brad Stevens way of coaching. A great way to know each other.

I am impatient for the season to start. This could be a fun year.