Boston Celtics SG/SF Jaylen Brown
Followed by Jayson Tatum’s renewed scoring tendencies was Jaylen Brown’s ol’ reliable efficient scoring with some bright flashes.
Brown headlined the box score with 25 points on a 67 true-shooting %, but what was seen on camera stood out to me more than his stats. After getting sidelined last season with a devastating wrist injury on top of tendinitis he had been suffering from since the winter, I would have understood if Brown was a little rusty this game.
Instead, his burst looked better than ever, and outside of a few drops, his handle looked very good. His wrist felt good too, as he heaved 12 3-pointers in the Celtics’ first preseason outing. All in all, Brown looks like he hasn’t missed a beat which is very important for the Cs this upcoming season.
Outside of Brown’s blossoming health, two other things caught my eye throughout the Magic game. His off-ball defense and passing looked significantly improved. Although both of those things need to be taken with a grain of salt and should only be evaluated over a longer stretch of games, what Brown displayed seemed promising. He was keeping track of his man and was on time with all of Udoka’s off-ball switches, two things Brown has struggled with in the past.
As a ball-handler, Brown’s handle got away from him a few times, and his vision is still far from elite, but I liked the creativity he was playing with. He threw some behind-the-back balls, swing passes, and didn’t seem uncomfortable when the defense forced him to become a passer.
If these passing and off-ball defense flashes are legitimate developments, the Boston Celtics will be an even bigger problem than they already are.