Boston Celtics: looking back on Jaylen Brown’s underrated 2019-20 season

The 2019-20 season saw Jayson Tatum rule the media waves with his stellar play and ascension to All-Star status for the Boston Celtics. However, hidden in his shadow is the underrated season his teammate, Jaylen Brown, has had for the team during this year’s campaign.

With the craziness surrounding the NBA suspension caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, along with Jayson Tatum‘s rise to stardom prior to the hiatus, let’s make sure Jaylen Brown isn’t lost in the shuffle of young stars. The fourth year wing from the Boston Celtics has found his place in this high-powered offense, showcasing his talents at an All-Star caliber level.

Brown has found himself this season, often making big shots in key situations. In a career high 34 minutes per game, the 23 year old is averaging 20.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals. He’s also shooting 49 percent from the field and and 38 percent from downtown, both extremely efficient numbers compared to previous years.

In the chaos that was the 2018-19 Boston Celtics, Brown took a step back from his breakout season, similar to Tatum.

Last year, he only averaged 13 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He shot 46 percent from the field and 34 percent from three. Whether the off-year was due to chemistry issues or something else, Brown did not show the promise that the fans got a glimpse of in the Celtics’ 2018 postseason run.

Before the season, Boston signed Brown to a 4-year contract extension, worth $115 million in total. Many questioned this decision, as the young wing was coming off of such a disappointing year — he even lost his starting spot due to inefficiency. However, the improvement this year has been drastic, inserting himself into the All-Star discussion.

Let’s take a deeper look into some of the improvements he’s made this year.

First, his finishing at the rim has been delightful to watch, as he always had the athleticism to get to the rim, yet struggled to finish on a consistent basis. This year, he’s shooting almost 71 percent at the rim, five percent up from the previous year.

On his 150 made shots at the rim this year, only 80 have been assisted, meaning 47 percent of his baskets at the rim were created by himself. This is also an encouraging sign, showing that he can create his own offense, something that has been keeping him from taking the next step as a player.

Many of these opportunities at the rim come in transition, an area where he has become Boston’s best fast break operator. Here are two clips of Brown abusing the opposition in transition plays:

In previous years, Brown has shown both a reluctance to drive to the rim and a tendency to get a bit out of control due to his amazing athleticism. Now, he has learned to be in control his body, while improving both his vision and patience to improve his offensive game. He still drives to the hoop with ease, but now he’s an efficient driver; something that’s propelled the offense all year.

Another promising area for Brown is his shot chart. 84 percent of his shots this season have been either within 10 feet of the basket, or beyond the arc. This is what coaches look for in efficient scorers in today’s NBA.

Usually, when young players such as Brown get bigger opportunities in an offense, they want to prove themselves by taking difficult mid-range shots off of isolation possessions. Brown hasn’t shown that tendency this year, which has allowed the Boston Celtics to be even more successful.

Look, I get it: with the departure of Tom Brady from the New England Patriots, Boston is now Jayson Tatum’s city to run. But let’s not forget about the other Jay either.

He’s pretty special. And we get to watch both of them flourish together for the years to come (assuming Tatum gets his deserved contract extension from the C’s).