Boston: Kemba Brown.
I do not agree with Pho's opinion that a Kemba Smart backcourt is better than a Kemba Brown backcourt.
My point was that the team is better with both Smart and Kemba on the floor, and if that's the case, they're the backcourt. Doesn't mean Jaylen isn't also on the floor.
Are they really? Smart is +8.8 on the year. That is behind Tatum, Walker, Hayward, Brown, and Theis (Poirier also, but I'm not counting him). And Theis has him more than doubled and Tatum nearly has him doubled. The on-off per 100 possessions for Smart is only a very meager +0.4. So the team is only slightly better with him on the floor then when he is on the bench.
Tatum is the real value player with an on-off per 100 possession of +27.4, which through 10 games is absolutely astronomically (especially with his poor shooting to start the year). It also goes to the point that the team lacks a credible PF outside of Tatum on the roster. If Tatum gets hurt, the team is in big trouble. More so than any other player.
Except Tatum hasn't been playing PF. Brown, when in, has taken the defensive assignments on PFs. His main covers have been Hachimura, Porzingas, Randle, PJ Washington, Horford and Siakam.
Tatum's great numbers are probably due, in part, to the fact that when in lineups with Brown and Hayward or Hayward and Smart or Brown and Smart, Tatum is usually defending the worst offensive player playing the 2-4 position for the opposition.
Notice I said in part. Jayson, to his credit, has been playing great defense, it's just easier to do when not matched up with the opposition's top or 2nd best offensive option.
Brown playing mostly PF complicates the argument that he is even a guard but, I think he is most effective at SG, hence why I think a Brown Kemba pairing is this team's best backcourt.