Boston Celtics: How Jaylen Brown rose to stardom for the Cs

Jaylen Brown improved his playmaking

In years past, Jaylen Brown has never been asked to do any playmaking other than finding the open man…if he’s even open enough.

However, as star players, he and Tatum have been asked to have an increased playmaking role, with Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens saying of Brown:

"“…(he) just works hard at everything.”"

Brown’s playmaking can “unlock” the Celtics in a way, allowing them to still be in the green point differential-wise when Tatum is off the court, something that has not been true in the last few years.

Brown is averaging a career-high assist per game at 3.6 per night, as well as a career-best assist to turnover ratio, at 1.44.

His playmaking has been a game-changer for Boston, allowing Brown’s plus/minus on the court to be a +3.4, good for best in the last three seasons for Jaylen.

Brown has also developed a solid playmaking relationship with teammate Marcus Smart, with 29% of his assists coming off a Smart basket.

Brown is consistently making the right play, no longer having tunnel vision when driving to the basket. He is also using the spacing and gravity he creates as a dribble-driver to find open shooters on the perimeter.

As the Celtics continue to improve, throughout this season and in future seasons, Brown’s development–not just as a scorer or defender, but as a playmaker–will be key to Boston having a legitimate chance to compete for championships.