BOSTON — With Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum sidelined while rehabbing a ruptured Achilles, fellow star Jaylen Brown is receiving a lot more attention. His usage is way up, and Boston loves to run its offense through him when a big bucket is needed. Unfortunately for Brown, not all of that attention is good attention.

For example, now the officials are more focused on Brown than any other Celtic. That used to be the case for Tatum, who got whistled for 13 technical fouls last season (tied for the fourth-most of any player).

In Tatum's absence, Brown has drawn a surplus of scrutiny from referees, as it didn't take long for the longest-tenured Celtic to get T'd up during a 138-129 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.

“I don't know what my career numbers for techs is per season, but it's probably the most I've got early in the season,” Brown said in his postgame press conference.

Brown would be correct. He currently has three techs through 17 games, which is tied with Golden State Warriors antagonist Draymond Green for the second-most in the NBA. In comparison, Brown only picked up seven techs for the entirety of the 2024-25 regular season.

At the rate Brown is going, he's flirting with 16 technical fouls. Reaching that benchmark would trigger an automatic one-game suspension unless the league withdrew a tech or two.

The four-time All-Star has a simple solution to prevent such a situation:

“I'm just going to try to keep my mouth shut,” he stated.

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Does Jaylen Brown have a valid case against the refs?

Knowing Brown's discipline and his commitment to playing as much as possible, he'll be able to avoid the 16-tech penalty.

Plus, he may have a valid reason for earning all these techs early in the season. Brown averages the eighth-most drives per game of any player who's entered at least five games during the 2025-26 campaign. Yet, he's not top-15 in free-throw attempts per game for players with that same sample size.

Since points and wins are harder to come by for an undermanned Celtics team, Brown's frustration is warranted. He has to work harder for every basket and feels short-changed when he takes a lot of contact at the rim but hears no whistle.

The physicality of Brown's game should earn him more trips to the line, however, that hasn't always been the case 17 games in.

Regardless, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP is still leading the 9-8 Celtics in every way. He's averaging a career-high 27.9 points per outing while shooting a career-high 50.6% from the field. On Sunday, his 35 points — with 13 coming in the fourth quarter — were pivotal in Boston's most recent win over Orlando.

The Celtics will need him at his best again on Wednesday, as they host the red-hot Detroit Pistons, who sit atop the Eastern Conference standings. Perhaps Brown will have some more luck with the officials against a physical team like Detroit.