Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has received a ton of criticism through the years. Oftentimes viewed as the Robin to Jayson Tatum's Batman, Brown has made it a personal mission to prove that he can be a superstar talent. After making his third All-Star appearance in the last four seasons, the 27-year-old has proven to be an instrumental part of Boston's overall success.
Currently 52-14 on the season, the Celtics own the best record in the league with only 16 games remaining on their schedule. It continues to look very likely that they will finish with the best record ahead of the playoffs, and win over 60 games for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Although Tatum is still the face of the team, Brown has really stepped up and focused on improving areas of his game that people criticized him for last season, specifically dribbling with his left hand and being a facilitator for others on the perimeter. While his scoring numbers have declined slightly compared to last season, Brown has averaged career highs with 3.7 assists per game and a 50.2 shooting percentage from the floor. Brown and the Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns 127-112 on Thursday night, a game in which Boston's star recorded a game-high 37 points.
In his postgame comments, Brown took some jabs at his haters, claiming that he has seen growth in his game since the start of the season.
"I think this whole seasonā¦ I feel like some of the stuff that you could say about me last year you can't say about me this year."
Celtics star Jaylen Brown on whether he believes he's playing the best basketball of his career š£
(via @NBCSCeltics)pic.twitter.com/CviPswdINQ
ā ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 15, 2024
āI think this whole season, I just feel like I've improved a lot of the stuff I needed to work on. Overall, just improve my mentality, but attack my weaknesses,ā Brown said, via NBCS Celtics. āI feel like some of the stuff that you could say about me last year, you can't say about me this year. I'm excited to go into the playoffs and keep on improving the same things.ā
Jaylen Brown's numbers since All-Star break
Overall, Brown has had yet another terrific season after signing a five-year, $286 million contract extension in the offseason, a deal that drew a lot of scrutiny since he isn't perceived as the Celtics' best player. Brown has never been the type of player to do a lot of talking, as he always lets his game speak for him. He has certainly done that as of late.
With his 37-point performance on Thursday against the Suns, Brown has now recorded at least 21 points in all 10 games he has played in since the All-Star break. In this span, Brown has averaged 28.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 54.0 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from three-point range.
This season, Brown has shot only 35.4 percent from three-point range, which makes this another area of his game that he has been focusing on improving ahead of the playoffs.
It is not hard to believe Brown when he says he's playing the best basketball of his career right now. Should this stretch of dominance continue, the Celtics will be in a great position to make a championship run in the postseason.
Brown and the Celtics will look to continue their success and pick up win No. 53 on Sunday when they hit the road to take on the Washington Wizards, who have more losses than Boston has wins this season.
Follow Us
Subscribe