The Boston Celtics are getting back to their winning ways, having taken home victories in four of their last five contests. One of the constants we've seen in these wins has been the aggressive scoring mentality of Jaylen Brown, and this is clearly what the Celtics need from him moving forward.
Looking at Boston's last 10 games, Brown has scored 24 or more in all but one, and the lone exception was when he had 19 points in 25 minutes in a blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jaylen has scored at least 26 points in eight of their last 10, and he's dropped 30-plus in five. The result has been the Celtics winning six of the last 10 overall.
This team is clearly beginning to trend in the right direction, and Brown's aggressive scoring is one of the main catalysts for that. It's understandable why it may have taken him a few weeks to lean fully into the leading scorer mentality fully, as he's typically been caught up in a game of "your turn, my turn" with Jayson Tatum in the past. But now, Boston needs him to take over if it's going to have a chance at making the playoffs.
Jaylen Brown needs to continue scoring for the Celtics to win
It makes sense that in Joe Mazzulla's system, the expectation headed into the season wasn't necessarily for Jaylen Brown to come out and average 35 points per game. Celtics fans know that he's talented enough to do that, so it was always a thought in the back of people's heads. But it was never what was expected. With Boston's early-season struggles, it made more sense to begin leaning into the strengths of this team's best player.
When Brown has had a big night recently, it hasn't just looked like him spotting up and being content to play off-ball most of the time. In the last 10 games, he's averaged 7.2 free throw attempts per game. He's attacking early, getting to the rim, hunting mismatches and getting to his spots.
After the Celtics' loss to the Nets last Friday, Jaylen was quick to put the loss and the lack of energy on himself. "If you come ready to play or don’t come at all, that’s my whole team. We got to come ready to play," he said. This is a great example of him being the leader and bar-setter his team needs.
Boston is above .500 once again, but their margin for error remains small. They need a top-tier scorer to stabilize the offense, and Jaylen Brown is the obvious answer. When he plays like the star he is, the Celtics continue to win basketball games.