Assessing Jaylen Brown's Rookie Year

[CelticsJG]

He showed this year at the very least he will be a role player. Still 2-3 years away.

[jambr380]

While I agree that the assist numbers were quite low, his usage on offense was very specific to:

1) Spot up shooter in the corner - where he was the last guy to receive the ball and was expected to take the shot after it swung around to him.

2) Slasher - often getting the ball on the move and pulling up or getting to the rim. His ability to get fouls called (and sometimes make the and-1) was especially impressive for a rookie.

As others have said, once he tightens up the dribble, he should be fine and, next year, Brad may let him be a little more creative with the ball. He does seem to be emulating the AB role, which doesn't bode well for AB's future in Boston.

The guy's edge, poise, work ethic, and IQ are really great factors that should help accelerate his growth. There is a lot to be excited about with Jaylen Brown.

[hodgy03038]

I would say there was some flashes of brilliance. He (especially later in season) was able to finish in traffic and get some and 1's. His 3 pt shooting improved late in season. He seems to take his job very serious which I love. earlier in season he was somewhat out of control in drives to hoop getting stripped or creating an offensive foul. There were a few times early in season when he pulled a JR Smith and left the obvious offender and went to cover a guy rather than stop the ball and the offensive player went to the hoop for a layup or dunk. From season start to finish I would grade him a B. I expect a HUGE improvement next season. He is a keeper.

[Granath]

I'd say I'm pretty pleased thus far and feeling a bit vindicated given the hate that was spewed my way on draft night for predicting and supporting the pick. Remember I changed to the sig you see below on draft night.

Brown was, and remains, a fairly raw product. His handle and passing need serious work though I was pleasantly surprised by his shooting. He's still learning to play defense and how to finish when he's not the best athlete on the court by a country mile. But what I said on draft night I believe still holds true - Brown is in a situation where failure is only a very slight possibility. He's going to be one of those guys who succeeds in the NBA because he was in the right place at the right time (not unlike IT right now).

He's being taught how to win, how to prepare, how to practice and what a true professional is all about. He's in a stable environment with a great coach and one of the best GMs in the league. Brad is putting him in positions to taste success on the court and that's addictive. He takes the court with the expectation of winning every game. He got to see and experience NBA Playoff basketball his first year (18 games of it!). Most guys with some talent who get put into similar situations will ultimately reach their potential and Brown has oodles of it. Post All-Star break the kid averaged 15.5 points, 6 boards and 2 assists per 36 all the while playing 3rd, 4th and 5th fiddle on the court. That bodes well for the future and I could see him putting up those stats next year (and not just per 36). 

[tarheelsxxiii]

He's being taught how to win, how to prepare, how to practice and what a true professional is all about. He's in a stable environment with a great coach and one of the best GMs in the league. Brad is putting him in positions to taste success on the court and that's addictive. He takes the court with the expectation of winning every game. He got to see and experience NBA Playoff basketball his first year (18 games of it!). Most guys with some talent who get put into similar situations will ultimately reach their potential and Brown has oodles of it. Post All-Star break the kid averaged 15.5 points, 6 boards and 2 assists per 36 all the while playing 3rd, 4th and 5th fiddle on the court. That bodes well for the future and I could see him putting up those stats next year (and not just per 36).

Well said.  This is exactly the reason I expect Brown, and to an even greater extent Fultz, to really succeed in the NBA.  And in the same vein, why it would be a major mistake to not resign IT next season. 

[Ogaju]

I'd grade him a B+. Guys were going nuts and screaming in the forums about the pick, but he put up a promising year as an ok backup (starter even) on a playoff team that went to the conference finals and won 50+ games. Btw LA TP for owning up, I'm still looking for Clench and CoachBo.
As for expectations I expect him to improve to numbers like 13 PPG, 5 RPG and 3 APG in ~24 minutes per game. But hey I'm always hoping for him to become the next MJ

TP for the being the first to post in the thread.  We need to get you to triple digits .

As for your expectations/projections for next year, the rebounding and passing categories are the ones about which I'm most concerned.  While I have seen him make a few good/great passes, as well as make better decisions on the break than any of our guards (which is beyond pathetic, to me), the guy had stretches of 2, 3, and even 5 games in a row without recording an assist . How is that even possible, lol ?  Clearly he's been spending too much time with Avery Bradley (sarcasm).  Granted, I wasn't exactly expecting him to be Rondo or anything, but I find it alarming that, despite averaging 17.2 mpg, he didn't even register 1 assist per contest .

Additionally, if there's one thing this team desperately needs, it's rebounding, and again, I wasn't looking for him to be, well, even Rondo , on the boards, but you're telling me that with his athletic gifts and physical tools that he couldn't grab 10 rebounds in a single game?  Not one?  Case in point, in two starts against the Raptors in February he grabbed a total of...one offensive rebound, while also posting a combined...two assists?  Seriously?

Even in the playoffs, during game 4 against Cleveland, he played 20 minutes and yet somehow failed to corral a single rebound or record even one assist or steal.  Wat .

I guess what I'm trying to get at, here, is that he seems pretty limited as far as contributing to winning.  Like, if he isn't scoring, what else does he offer, which was one of the primary reasons why I liked, and still do like, Kris Dunn over him, because even if he doesn't score, Dunn will stuff the stat sheet, so to speak, and you know he's out there.  With Brown it's like, well, I guess it's easy to see that he's a Kobe fan, lol . Ugh.

The assists will go up when he tightens his handle, because a lot of assists has to do with actually handling the ball instead of looking to shoot or pass it up every time you have the ball. Jaylen's problem is that his handle isn't good enough for him to dribble the ball around and open up the passing lanes, which lead to few assist opportunities. Also the rebounding seems to be fine, he grabbed some in game 2 of the ECF iirc. Also with his high motor and good athleticism I think he'll be fine on rebounding. Btw I'm not yet at triple digits lol, still thanks for the tp, you've changed quite a lot imo, I was a lurker since the 12 13 offseason and I thought you were a bit of a troll. Obviously I was wrong and TP.

He is not a troll, he is a comedian. That explains the emoji-laden posts.