NBA showcases three Celtics having great handles…

[Roy H.]

The Boston Celtics have some players on their roster with some pretty good handles, good enough to get three of their stars featured in a new video released by the NBA highlighting the best examples of elite basketball control in the recent 2021-22 season.

And you might be surprised by the inclusion of one of the trio of Celtics players given all the flack he got from fans for his loose handle in the postseason, a one Jaylen Brown. Alongside Boston’s Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum, the Georgia native is featured prominently in the clip showing off the best handles in action from last season.

Sorry, but no.  I love JB.  He does not have a terrific handle.

https://youtu.be/k7KpeLmmA28

[Atzar]

He has a sloppy handle overall but he does have some highlight reel plays where it comes together for him.  So I'm not too surprised that he'd show up on a list like this. 

EDIT TO ADD:  Poking through this list a bit, I'm a little mad that Tatum's play against Brooklyn is only at 23.  I don't think that editor realized how nasty that move really was, especially given that it's the closing moments of a really close game and the guy is working on a 50-piece.  Should have been easy top 10 in my opinion. 

[nickagneta]

I think his handle is better than 95% of the league. Maybe more. Most of his turnovers are not due to a bad handle but due to bad decision making. Make better decisions, which lead to so many less turnovers and everyone would rave about his handle. I actually think he has a better handle than Tatum. Tatum makes better decisions.

[Rondo9]

Celticsblog really hates their own players.

[SHAQATTACK]

The Boston Celtics have some players on their roster with some pretty good handles, good enough to get three of their stars featured in a new video released by the NBA highlighting the best examples of elite basketball control in the recent 2021-22 season.

And you might be surprised by the inclusion of one of the trio of Celtics players given all the flack he got from fans for his loose handle in the postseason, a one Jaylen Brown. Alongside Boston’s Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum, the Georgia native is featured prominently in the clip showing off the best handles in action from last season.

Sorry, but no.  I love JB.  He does not have a terrific handle.

https://youtu.be/k7KpeLmmA28

Better than KD  ….

[Roy H.]

Celticsblog really hates their own players.

Does “hate” mean not over-inflating the talents of our players?

[Roy H.]

I think his handle is better than 95% of the league. Maybe more. Most of his turnovers are not due to a bad handle but due to bad decision making. Make better decisions, which lead to so many less turnovers and everyone would rave about his handle. I actually think he has a better handle than Tatum. Tatum makes better decisions.

A top-20ish handle?  I just don’t see it. He’s improved his handle, but it’s still in the realm of average for a guard / wing.

[hpantazo]

The Boston Celtics have some players on their roster with some pretty good handles, good enough to get three of their stars featured in a new video released by the NBA highlighting the best examples of elite basketball control in the recent 2021-22 season.

And you might be surprised by the inclusion of one of the trio of Celtics players given all the flack he got from fans for his loose handle in the postseason, a one Jaylen Brown. Alongside Boston’s Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum, the Georgia native is featured prominently in the clip showing off the best handles in action from last season.

Sorry, but no.  I love JB.  He does not have a terrific handle.

https://youtu.be/k7KpeLmmA28

This must be coming from some rival franchises trying to encourage Jaylen to keep trying to dribble through traffic, right?

[liam]

I thought Pritchard had the best handle on the team.

[Silas]

I thought Pritchard had the best handle on the team.

So did I....

[Atzar]

I thought Pritchard had the best handle on the team.

He probably does but this isn't a ranking really.  Just a highlight reel.  And while Pritchard has a tight handle, he doesn't have the quickness or explosion to do anything flashy with it. 

He's never done anything as highlight-worthy as Jaylen's crossovers or Smart's ankle-breaker or Tatum's in and out clown-the-whole-Nets-organization move, so he's not going to show up on a reel like this. 

[Rondo9]

Celticsblog really hates their own players.

Does “hate” mean not over-inflating the talents of our players?

I mean come on, can you just sit back and bask in the recognition the players are getting? It's not that big of a deal but Celticsblog just wants to put their own players down.

[GreenlyGreeny]

This is a joke, right? Did they not watch the NBA Finals where JB tried to imitate MJ in the final three games, and just kept turning the ball over and over as we lost three in a row for the first (and hopefully only) time in 2022? You don’t turn the ball over like that as frequently as JB did by having an elite handle. JB is a very good two-way player, but his handle is clearly below average for his position. The last thing we need is JB thinking he’s got this amazing handle and can write checks his handle cannot cash—that’s one of the foremost reasons why we lost those last three games to Golden State.

Smart did improve his handle, but he’s basically got an average handle for a PG. JT may have an above average handle for a 3/4–and probably has the best handle among our starting five—but that is not something to write home about.

[Roy H.]

Celticsblog really hates their own players.

Does “hate” mean not over-inflating the talents of our players?

I mean come on, can you just sit back and bask in the recognition the players are getting? It's not that big of a deal but Celticsblog just wants to put their own players down.

I don't find it that interesting to pretend make believe is true.  This is a discussion forum, and we tend to discuss strengths and weaknesses, times when our players are underrated and overrated, etc.  It comes with the package.

We've got a pep rally thread for those who want to be ra-ra all the time, though.

[liam]

I thought Pritchard had the best handle on the team.

He probably does but this isn't a ranking really.  Just a highlight reel.  And while Pritchard has a tight handle, he doesn't have the quickness or explosion to do anything flashy with it. 

He's never done anything as highlight-worthy as Jaylen's crossovers or Smart's ankle-breaker or Tatum's in and out clown-the-whole-Nets-organization move, so he's not going to show up on a reel like this.

I wasn't thinking of highlights but least turnovers...