BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone expects Justin Brownlee to finally hit his stride on offense after he finally knocked down his first three-pointer of the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup finals series.
But even though Brownlee hasn’t had his offensive explosion in the finals, Cone said Brownlee has been contributing on other aspects of the game especially on defense. In Game Three, Brownlee had four blocks and one steal in the Gin Kings’ 85-73 win over TNT.
“Justin struggled offensively but he’s not quit defensively,” said Cone.
The Ginebra mentor acknowledged that Brownlee is having a hard time on offense because Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is doing an excellent job on defense.
“There is no doubt about it. If you are going to have Rondae Hollis-Jefferson guarding you for 35 minutes of the game, you are going to struggle,” said Cone, who described the TNT import as an elite NBA defender," he said.
“I don’t care who you are. If you’re an NBA guy, you bring out Paul George or something like that, he will probably going to struggle against Rondae also."
On Brownlee’s struggles on the court, Cone said TNT should be credited for the Barangay Ginebra import’s 1-for-9 output from threes, and 1-for-7 from fours over the past three games.
“That’s a credit to Talk ‘N Text and their defense. They are taking certain things away from us, one thing that they are taking away is Justin’s three-point shots. They are not letting him get it. They are closing out on him. They are making him put the ball on the floor,” Cone said.
While they are still trying to find ways to overcome Hollis-Jefferson’s defense, Cone said Brownlee will continue to contribute positively for Barangay Ginebra in other aspects.
READ: Brownlee shines on both ends in Game 3 while battling cramps
“We didn’t spend much time really to try to set Justin up (on offense). We just let him get the ball with the flow and let the other guys play. That was a little better for us,” said Cone.
“We still expect Justin to have one of his explosive games this series. But in the meantime, he is helping us with block shots, he is helping us with defensive rotations, he is picking up Rondae in certain parts of the game. Those are just as valuable as him getting those three or four-point shots,” Cone added.
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