Jaylen Brown on why he overlooked open Neemias Queta on late possession
Jaylen Brown broke down one of the final decisions of the season he made, in which he passed to Payton Pritchard instead of Neemias Queta in Game 7.
BOSTON — On Saturday night, star guard Jaylen Brown had the ball in his hands with the Boston Celtics' season hanging in the balance. With 2:30 remaining in Game 7 between the second-seeded C's and seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, Brown and company trailed 99-98 at home, but had the momentum shifting in their favor. After swatting Sixers wing Paul George, Brown received the rock at the top of the key on the other end of the floor.
Meanwhile, Celtics center Neemias Queta appeared to break free for an open layup at the rim as his defender, Sixers center Joel Embiid, lagged behind in transition. The 7-footer called for the ball, yet Brown ended up driving further into the paint and kicking it out to Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard for a corner 3-pointer. Unfortunately, the career 39 percent 3-point shooter bricked the wide-open look, and Boston came up empty when it desperately needed points.
The Celtics went on to miss 9 of their last 10 field goal attempts in the season-ending contest and fell 109-100. If Pritchard's shot went in, perhaps it's a different story. Brown later defended his decision to dish it to his point guard rather than a roaming Queta.
"Obviously, I see Neemi," the five-time All-Star clarified while breaking down the play on his Twitch stream on Sunday night. "I also see Embiid coming from behind... Maybe I should've went to Neemi, but then maybe Embiid blocks him from behind.