Last season the Celtics often counted on Jaylen Brown to give them an early jolt. He averaged 7.2 points per game in the first quarter, ranking seventh in the NBA among players who appeared in at least 60 games.
This season is just three games old, and the Celtics are navigating some absences, but so far there has been a mild shift in Brown’s role, and he said it is requiring some adjustments. His first-quarter minutes have dipped from 9.6 a year ago to 7.2, and he has more frequently been tasked with guiding the second unit.
“It’s something new, because usually I’m the first-quarter guy,” Brown said. “I’m the one that’s setting the tone and getting off to a hot start. But I think [coach Joe Mazzulla] wants to switch it up a little bit. I guess it’s cool. I can do whatever our team needs to be done. Whoever needs to feel comfortable in order to get the game started, whatever, I’ll figure it out.”
Brown’s second-quarter minutes have increased from 7.4 a year ago to 9.6, but his shooting percentages in that period have fallen from 53.4 to 35. The biggest shift, Brown said, is learning to play alongside the double-big lineups that Mazzulla has been deploying more frequently.
The early alteration has been made in large part because Kristaps Porzingis is out following offseason ankle surgery and backup wing Sam Hauser has missed the last two games because of a sore back. So more traditional big men Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta have been shuffling in and out alongside Brown.
“It’s just different,” Mazzulla said. “Last year the JB-only lineup had KP and Sam. And so it was just different frequencies that you would get to. This year, it’s only been [three] games, so just going through what those lineup frequencies are going to be, what the spacing looks like, what the reads are. We’ve had a couple lineups in the last couple games that we haven’t necessarily practiced, but I think JB’s handled it well, just understanding where the reads are coming from. And he’ll just continue to kind of grow in what those different lineups are.”
Of course, the Celtics are still 3-0 and have mostly looked like the best team in the NBA once again, and months remain until the playoffs begin, so this is as good of a time to experiment as any. And Brown has shown over the years that he is more than capable of learning and adjusting to new surroundings.
He offered a positive glimpse late in the first quarter Saturday, for example, after checking back in after a brief break to start his stint guiding the second unit. In the final minute, with bigs Al Horford and Tillman on the floor, Brown hurried upcourt seeking a good two-for-one opportunity.
Horford and Tillman were aware of giving him room to operate, and both are good 3-point shooters, so they stood beyond the arc in opposite corners, leaving Brown plenty of room in the middle.
He spun inside the free-throw line, elevated over Detroit’s Malik Beasley, and scored with 33.4 seconds left, all but guaranteeing that Boston would get another decent look before the quarter ended.
That final chance went to Brown, too. Horford stood well beyond the top of the key and Tillman was at the left arc before he began to cut toward the hoop while Brown backed down his defender. That forced Pistons center Isaiah Stewart to at least account for Tillman and helped Brown find room for a quick 13-foot pull-up.
“The spacing is a little different [with two bigs],” Brown said. “Your driving lanes are a little different. So in my lineup in the second group having double big, just assessing where my spots will be a little better and seeing how to make that group flourish when I’m on the floor with them.”
When Hauser and Porzingis return, it is most likely that lineups and groupings will more closely resemble last season’s. But for now Brown’s larger second quarter role has coincided with longer first-quarter runs for Jayson Tatum, and he has been absolutely dominant.
Through three games, Tatum is averaging a league-leading 15.3 points per game in the first quarter, 5.3 points more than the next closest player. He is also shooting 64.5 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from the 3-point line.
“I think we’re still growing, improving,” Brown said. “We’re still learning and figuring out some lineups. We’ve been going a little bit more double big than we have in the past. That’s something I’m still figuring out, but it’s great. Every season presents a new challenge but our principles are the same. We still want to move the ball, we still want to play fast, we still want to get open shots, we still want to defend at a high level, and I think that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.