Jaylen Brown responds to criticism, shines in recent Boston Celtics wins

Jaylen Brown has been underestimated his whole career. Often overshadowed by teammate Jayson Tatum, Brown hasn’t received the credit he deserves as he enters his eighth season on the Boston Celtics.

Facing criticism of his ball handling abilities among other offensive limitations, the Brown hate was brought back to the spotlight following his 11-point performance in Boston’s 108-104 win over the Knicks in the season opener.

After a poor shooting night where Brown shot just 4/11 from the field along with some costly turnovers down the stretch of the game, Celtics fans were quick to jump on Brown’s performance, questioning whether the 27-year-old properly prepared himself for the 2023-24 NBA season.

That’s not to say the criticism wasn’t warranted. Brown had a tough game, and his decision-making was cause for concern among Boston Celtics fans. After all, Brown did just sign a historic five-year supermax extension worth $304 million over the summer that at the time was the richest deal in NBA history.

Ever since his opening night setback, Brown has silenced his haters. In the team’s 119-111 win over the Miami Heat, Brown scored 27 points on 11-22 shooting the very next game, including some clutch shots in crunch time.

Brown didn’t stop there. Amidst Boston’s 126-107 win over Washington, Brown torched the Wizards for 36 points. After the first half, Brown had already totaled 27 points while draining seven three-pointers in what resulted in one of the best shooting nights of his career. Just like that, Brown silenced his critics.

Jaylen Brown has solidified his standing in Boston Celtics Big Three

With the addition of Kristaps Porzingis this offseason, it was easy for Celtics fans to forget about what Brown brings to the table. Instead of being a counterpart to Tatum, the fanbase began to view Porzingis as the team’s new and improved second option.

After another pair of solid performances against Indiana and Brooklyn, Brown has solidified his position in Boston’s new big three.

While having trouble shooting the ball in the team’s 124-114 win over Brooklyn on Saturday, Brown turned to his playmaking abilities instead. He posted four assists, including a textbook lob to a crashing Porzingis for the easy slam.

For Brown, it’s all about being aggressive; whether that leads to a shot or an opportunity for his teammates.

“It’s just being aggressive,” Brown said following his 27-point performance over the Heat. “I felt like I had some good looks that didn’t go down, but I stayed with it and was able to come out and make some shots down the line.”

Surrounded by Tatum, Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics won’t need Brown to drop 30 points every night to be successful. In fact, they won’t require anyone to put up those numbers to win in this league.

If Brown stays aggressive and makes smart decisions with the ball in his hands, his numbers will speak for themselves.