Jaylen Brown compared the coaching styles of Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka, and Joe Mazzulla
Brown said Mazzulla incorporates elements of both Stevens and Udoka.
Jaylen Brown has played for three different coaches in the past four seasons, and he’s absorbed knowledge from each one along the way.
Brown believes Brad Stevens, Ime Udoka, and Joe Mazzulla each have a specific, unique style that has helped mold him into the player he is today.
Speaking after the Celtics’ 145-113 win over the Rockets on Saturday — following Udoka’s return to TD Garden — Brown compared and contrasted their varying approaches.
Stevens would “think the game for you” and call plays based on his preparation, Brown said. Udoka, meanwhile, encouraged the Celtics to “figure it out.”
Brown said Udoka built the system around the players and designed everything around what they do best. Udoka preached the importance of seeing and making a play.
“He empowered us to go play, go hoop, and be who we are,” Brown told reporters. “It was different for us. It definitely helped us grow as basketball players.”
Brown then called Mazzulla a “combination of the two” and said he’s expanded on the principles of both Stevens and Udoka.
“He’s empowering us, but also, we have to be the smarter, more prepared team,” Brown said of Mazzulla.
Brown is playing some of the best basketball of his career for the surging Celtics. In January, he’s averaging 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from 3-point range.
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