A season ago, the Boston Celtics were in the midst of a tumultuous campaign that produced a steady flow of headlines and culminated in an underwhelming second-round exit in the playoffs. They had a busy offseason, which resulted in the unceremonious exit of Kyrie Irving, Al Horford leaving for the Philadelphia 76ers and Terry Rozier signing with the Charlotte Hornets. All was not lost, though, as Boston added Kemba Walker to replace Irving, which then gave the rest of its core of Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown a chance to build chemistry.
So far, the Celtics have been one of the most dominant teams in the league, with the second-best net rating (7.7), and one of the best pick-and-roll offenses in the NBA. The offensive firepower Boston possesses is one that few teams across the league can match, and on any given night there is the potential for Walker, Hayward, Brown or Tatum to explode for a dominant performance. Irving’s departure has paved the way for a lot of the success Boston is seeing this year, but no one is benefiting more from him bolting to the Brooklyn Nets than Brown.
In his fourth year in the league, Brown is reaching new heights with the Celtics. He’s averaging a career-high in points (20.6), rebounds (7.1) and assists (2.4), and shooting a ridiculous 52.1 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from deep. He ranks 17th in the league in effective field goal percentage (59.4 percent), and leads the team in points in the paint per game (9.7). At the end of 2019, Brown won Player of the Week in the East for averaging 27.0 points and 6.7 rebounds, including a career-tying 34-point performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With more opportunities this season in a revamped offense for the Celtics, Brown’s performance has been garnering some All-Star buzz, and rightfully so. The best example of Brown’s ascension is the Christmas Day game against the Toronto Raptors. He unleashed a full arsenal of moves against the defending champs, from knocking down five 3-pointers, driving to the rim for easy buckets and the highlight of the game, hitting Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with a nasty double crossover to pull up for a mid-range jumper at the elbow.
This is star-in-the-making stuff, and if Brown hadn’t signed his rookie contract extension before the season started, there would be a handful of teams who would’ve undoubtedly thrown a max contract offer at him with the way he’s been playing. His size has always been a plus, but his improved footwork has made him an even more formidable defender, and with his efficient scoring on the other end of the floor, he’s become that coveted two-way player that every team in the league is searching for.
It’s not that we haven’t seen performances like his Christmas Day one before, remember, he played a huge role on that Boston team that made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals during the 2017-18 season when Irving underwent knee surgery. However, last season was almost like a gap year for Brown. He was moved back to the bench after starting in 70 games two years ago, which stifled his development. With a ball-dominant guard like Irving running the offense in Boston, it was not just hard on Brown, but for everyone to adjust to Kyrie’s style of play.
Now, he’s averaging nearly 20 more touches per game (49.1) than last year, and when he’s getting the ball he’s doing the most with it, averaging a team-leading 0.420 points per touch. He’s taking smarter shots and is playing within the dynamic system the Celtics have created this season, and people around the league are starting to notice.
Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce jokingly said before facing Brown and the Celtics last week that San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is to blame for Brown’s development. Pierce was referring to the time Brown spent over the summer coached by Popovich while playing for USA Basketball in the FIBA World Cup tournament.
“Blame Pop… if [Brown] does any damage to us, I’m going to have to text Pop and tell him, ‘Thank you.’ …Huge jump, tremendous jump, great person, great player,” Pierce said.
Pierce foreshadowed what he knew was coming because right after saying that, Brown dropped 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Hawks to lead the Celtics to another win.
Brown’s shining moment while playing with USA Basketball was in the first round of the FIBA World Cup where he led Team USA with 20 points for the win. It was against inferior competition, yes. However, Brown displayed a type of aggressiveness on both ends of the floor that had been previously lacking in his game. That aggressiveness has carried over into this season, and Celtics coach Brad Stevens has lauded Brown because of it.
“He’s always been able to drive it through contact but now he picks his spots well and he’s playing really assertive and aggressive,” Stevens told reporters. “He’s having a great year, and just like I’ve said with Jayson [Tatum] he can get that much better and that’s the fun part about it.”
If this is just the tip of the iceberg for Brown, then the Celtics should be ecstatic that he signed that four-year, $115 million deal before the start of this season, because it’s looking like a bargain now.
