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Jaylen Brown can become the most important defender on the Boston Celtics

By Joshua Bateman

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 25: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter during Game Six of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on May 25, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 25: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter during Game Six of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on May 25, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Jaylen Brown can be the most important defender on the Boston Celtics next season

The Boston Celtics will be going into next season a completely different team. There could be a lot of changes with the additions of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. On top of that, both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum could be completely different players with more development.

With all their talent, offense really should not be too much of a concern. Brad Stevens should not have much trouble turning these players into one of the best offenses in the NBA. Defense, however, is a bit if a question mark, despite how good they were this season.

They will be using a lot of wings, and pushing their versatility to the absolute limit. It could be hard for Al Horford to maintain how much he is able to do as he gets older, and we do not know if Marcus Smart is going to be back on the team next season.

The Celtics know they still have a lot of talent on defense, and they will have to lean on the players they know can handle the most. Next season, Brown could easily become the most important defender on this team, because he has a defensive ceiling that no one else can match.

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We have already seen what a difference it makes when Smart is able to guard four or five different positions. Brown may never be quite as versatile as Smart, but he has the physical tools to have that same impact.

There is no doubt that Brown is quick enough to stay with guards, and he is going to continue to add the strength he needs to defend top bigs in the NBA. Brown does not have the size of Hayward or Tatum, but he is going to be the most important defender out of their wings next year because of his physical tools.

He is going to be the player that has to take on the most difficult matchup for the majority of games, while still being expected to switch onto anyone on the court at any times.

Brown has clearly been a different kind of physical specimen, and he is already a strong defender. He still has lapses and, at just 21 years old, clearly has a lot of time to develop physically and mentally.

Brown never backs down, but he needs to be the kind of defender that brings top level consistency on that end. Brown is clearly capable of shutting down almost any player in the NBA for moments. If he can have that impact for an entire game, he will be the most important player on that end.

Right now, Brown is far from a polished defender. He shows great flashes on that end, but is not good enough to be the best defender on the best defense in the league. When you take into account the fact that he will be getting more responsibility with so many wings, Brown will be under a lot of pressure on that end next season.

The good news is there is no reason to doubt Brown anymore. He has transformed what people can expect of him in almost no time, and has drastically improved every stage of his career. With how polished Brown is coming on offense, he will absolutely embrace any defensive responsibility Stevens will give him.

The Celtics will always play defense as a unit, and having so many wings is what should allow them to make up for size problems. Brown, however, has the physical tools to do things that no one else on defense can.

The more versatility they get the better off the Celtics will be, and Brown can offer more of that on defense than anyone else right now. Going into year three, he should be able to elevate his play on that end more than Tatum will, and they will need that if they are not using much traditional size.

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The defense could be a work in progress for much of next season, but Brown could separate himself from this teammates on that end, and become a defensive player of the year candidate.

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