If you sat the Celtics’ coaching staff down this summer and asked them to describe the type of season they’d need from Jaylen Brown, they probably would’ve described something pretty close to these first nine games.
Brown, now in his 10th (wow) NBA season, is playing some of the best basketball of his career. He’s scored the ball at an unbelievable level, pouring in a career-high 27.7 points per game on 53.5% from the field -- another career best -- and 38.9% from beyond the arc, his best mark since the 2020-21 season, which would probably be another career-high had he not had an 0-9 outlier performance against the Rockets last weekend.
The game is just coming so easily for him.
“Just playing basketball, and getting to my spots,” he explained on Wednesday.
Mind you, all of this efficiency has come while Brown plays as Boston’s primary scoring option for all 31 of his minutes, instead of splitting that responsibility with Jayson Tatum. Many fans and national media members were skeptical about how well JB would handle being the opposing team’s top focus every night, while Tatum recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.
“Is he going to be able to create quality looks?” “Can he play under control?” “Is Jaylen Brown actually a number one option?”
These were all frequently asked questions over the summer.
Granted, there was a ton of recency bias woven into those doubts, though Brown was named NBA Finals MVP about 17 months ago.
He didn’t look like himself towards the end of last season, as he played through a torn meniscus. The explosiveness wasn’t there; it seemed much harder for him to get where he wanted to on the court, and his efficiency dipped.
In 17 post-All-Star break appearances, JB averaged just 20.2 points per game on 47.2% from the field and 32.5% from long range.
It’s incredible how much of a difference health makes.
“Health is key,” Brown told Hardwood Houdini after the win over the Wizards. “You see a lot of guys getting injured going around the league and sitting out games. I want to play as many games as I possibly can. I had some injuries last year that kind of derailed me towards the end of the season. So, health was a big emphasis going into the year. Then, at the start of the season, going into the preseason, I had a hamstring strain. Not ideal, but the medical staff managed it well, and I think I’m getting over the hump.”
Healthy Jaylen Brown has been dominant for the Celtics
Now, with his body feeling good, Brown seems unstoppable at times. Defenses have no idea what to do with him. He consistently gets to the mid-range for his pull-up jumpers at the elbow, or all the way to the rim, where he’s been excellent this season.
About a quarter of Brown’s shots have come from within five feet, and he’s made the most of them, finishing 83.3% of his looks at the rim.
Overall, the former Finals MVP’s shot profile consists mostly of looks from his hot spots. Brown takes 15 of his 19 shots from areas where he shoots 45% or better. For context, the only area factored into that where Brown shoots less than 50% is the above-the-break three-point range, where 45.5% is an elite number.
More than anything, these numbers scream that Brown is in control on offense, rather than defenses being able to force him into difficult shots. Very rarely will fans watch a possession and come away from it thinking that JB had to settle.
Not to mention that both Brown’s free-throw percentage (78.6%) and free-throw attempts (6.2) are both career highs.
His early success has been critical for Boston through these nine games. Entering Wednesday’s matchup with the Wizards, Brown was the only Celtic averaging more than 15 points per game, a stat unique to Boston this season. After Payton Pritchard’s 18-point outing, he’s now up to 15.3 points per game. Beyond those two, no one else can comfortably create reliable offense.
Which is why even with Brown playing at such a high level, Boston is still just 4-5. Regardless of their record, the Cs are still doing enough things right, specifically on defense, where they can feel confident in water finding its level with players like Pritchard and Derrick White struggling to knock down threes.
As far as JB goes, nothing he’s doing feels flukey, which is a positive sign for Celtics fans.