Jaylen Brown took Celtics doubters 'personally' — and now he can dunk on them

Jaylen Brown took a victory lap past his doubters Monday after leading the Boston Celtics to their 29th win of the season.

Most expected the Celtics to flounder this year with Jayson Tatum sidelined by injury and Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford all wearing different uniforms. Instead, Boston has flourished with Brown at the helm. The Celtics sit second in the East midway through the season, the same position they were in this time last year.

Brown spoke to reporters after the Celtics’ 102-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers and was asked whether he took offense to those who doubted Boston would succeed without Tatum and the rest.

“I take everything personally, lowkey. I’m always looking for something,” Brown said. “But yeah, I felt like I’ve sacrificed over the years in order for us to be a championship-caliber team. And I think now, we’re getting to see that a little bit. What exactly I was capable of, and what I was sacrificing.

“I think, before, maybe it wasn’t so obvious. I think now, being able to be at the helm of things, and us being the second seed in the east, versus last year we finished second seed in the east. It’s almost been no drop off with four players, five players that are essentially gone. The work from the coaching staff. The work from our leadership has has been great. And you know, I just try to make myself available every single night.”

Brown has looked every bit the dark-horse MVP candidate that Tatum has been over the past several seasons. The Cal product leads the NBA with 22.5 shot attempts per game and has thrived while carrying the heavier offensive workload. Through 46 games, Brown has averaged career highs in points (29.6) and assists (4.9) while shooting 48.3% from the floor.

Joe Mazzulla also deserves a lot of credit for empowering some of the Celtics’ newer rotation pieces, such as Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Hugo Gonzalez. But it’s Brown who’s been the stabilizing centerpiece for the Celtics all year.