Summer league isn't mostly about numbers/efficiency. Those things, good or bad, don't really translate because all of the guys are not playing in the roles they will have on their team.
Summer league is about specific plays or showing the potential to make certain plays. Spot ups, driving closeouts, creating offense, passing, fade aways, pull ups, blocks, steals, etc.
the only reason I brought up summer league is because Jaylen was awful in summer league. Him looking this good through his first 5 real games is a great sign. Hopefully it's a sign he's progressing fast.
LOL he did not look awful in summer league.
LOL he looked awful in summer league. He shot 32% and 22% from three against primarily undrafted bums. That's awful. He was better than those bums on the College level. He should have dominated them.
Luckily, he looks much better in the regular season.
Please read my post again. Summer league is not about efficiency, but making certain plays. Brown did that, which is why his summer league was productive, even if it was inefficient. To point to his efficiency as proof his summer league was "awful" is a non-sequitor, because, again, summer league (especially for rookies) is not about efficiency, but about getting your feet wet and making specific plays.
A top 5 draftee playing well in Summer League is not a sign of anything. A top 5 draftee playing poorly in Summer league is a concern, though. Reason being, the talent pool of Summer League is made up almost entirely of guys who weren't good enough in College to be drafted in the NBA. So a guy taken top 5, you'd have to assume that player was SIGNIFICANTLY better than the scrubs who didn't even get drafted.
If that player dominates the scrubs.... it's meaningless. Obviously, he'd dominate those scrubs... everyone acknowledged that on the college level he was significantly better than those scrubs.
If that player struggles against the scrubs, it's a concern. Why is this player, who was significantly better than these scrubs just a couple months ago, suddenly shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three against them? What happened?
You can twist the logic of Summer League to say that jacking up bricks, failing to finish at the hoop, and playing poor defense against bums is somehow an encouraging sign of "playmaking", but it's not really true. I don't think anyone should have entered panic mode over a handful of crappy Summerleague games from the #3 pick. Simmons and INgram didn't look particularly good either. All I'm saying is, Jaylen was terrible in Summer league (true) and it was a sign that he was a long way away from making any tangible impact once he moved up to real NBA competition. The consensus was that Jaylen looked very raw. The consensus was that Jaylen couldn't shoot and was incapable of finishing at the basket. That said, there was obvious potential on display. I personally was enthusiastic about his future, because you could see what he might become. You could also get a sense that maybe with the right supporting talent commanding attention, he might be able to have the spacing to attack the hoop and get some open shots. Still, based on how terrible he was in Summer League, it's rather surprising and thrilling that he's been this efficient in the first 5 games of the season considering how terrible he looked just a couple months ago.
Naturally, homers will hyper focus on the perceived insult and pointlessly argue that Jaylen wasn't terrible in SummerLeague... skin so thin they feel compelled to defend a pretty obviously bad performance. It's irrelevant. Summer league is over. Whether or not he was good or bad in Summer League doesn't matter. Pretend he was good if it makes you feel more secure and confident. I genuinely don't care at this point. Fact is, Jaylen looks solid through 5 regular season games and that's an amazing and wonderful thing. Who cares about whether or not he was garbage in Summer League (true) or severely underwhelming in College (also true). He's here now. He's doing well. Let's hope it continues.
I remember LeBron James kind of looking bad his first preseason. There were people calling him LeBust James. Then he showed up the first game of the regular season and dropped 20, 5 and 5. WHat happened prior to that game was irrelevant. Same with Jaylen. What's important is that Jaylen has been showing great signs and might hopefully be proving Ainge right for taking him 5 picks before most felt he should be drafted.
Topic: Jaylen Brown #2 on NBA.com Rookie Ladder (Read 33682 times)