“I’m going to go to war for this city,” Jaylen Brown said back in 2016 on Draft Night.
Even before playing a minute in green, before stepping foot on the parquet, before teaming up with Jayson Tatum, Brown committed himself to Boston. “I wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m going to leave it all on the floor every night...let’s build this bond.”
It’s a common analogy for head coach Joe Mazzulla — the game, the season, the playoffs as a battle, combat, warfare. And on the eve of another opportunity to win, the stakes are clear.