Heading into this year's playoffs, the Boston Celtics have the daunting task of trying to make up for the massive offensive void left by All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. It has pushed the younger players on the roster into prominent positions to step up in key spots while providing a reliable scoring punch.
Second-year guard Jaylen Brown has been the primary beneficiary of that responsibility as he has been arguably the team's most potent offensive contributor. Following his 34-point outing in the Game 4 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, he has become the first player since Derrick Rose to be age 21 or younger to have multiple 30-point performances in the playoffs.
Jaylen Brown is doing things in the playoffs that haven't been done in 8 years 💪 pic.twitter.com/Qv3cpkvO7O
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 22, 2018
Brown has shown no fear or any lack of confidence in his ability on the court leading his team offensively in place of Irving. His strong outing on Sunday had nearly helped the Celtics grab an impressive road win against the Bucks after completely erasing a double-digit lead late in the fourth quarter. He was particularly huge down the stretch hitting a couple of big 3-pointers to give his team a chance to win.
This season and the strong playoff showing from Brown have seen a tremendous amount of growth in his game from his rookie campaign. He has become a highly reliable scorer that is averaging a team-best 23.8 points on 51.4 percent shooting from the field and 46.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Celtics will continue to ride the production of Brown to help lift them in what has become an intense first-round playoff series after the Bucks have knotted it at 2-2 through the first four games.
Boston's young core group will be tested to see if they can handle the pressure that is in front of them to grab ahold control of the series once again as it shifts back to TD Garden for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
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