Jaylen Brown's Recent Growth

[footey]

I have observed the steady improvement of Jaylen Brown's offensive game recently. He is becoming increasingly assertive, not just satisfied to be a 3 and D guy.   I feel this improvement is correlated to 2 things in particular: His growing confidence at the foul line, and his improved ball handling in traffic.  He had a tendency last season, and much of this season, to having the ball easily stripped from his hands when he was inside.  That is occurring less frequently now.  His grip on the ball has much improved, and it is clearly something that he has been coached on. 

The improved free throw shooting is a very small sample, and I'm sure it is possible he could go into another funk again. But the more confident he is at the line, the more likely he is willing to drive to the hole, and draw a foul. He has the innate ability, due to his incredible first step, to get by his man, no matter who is guarding him.  He is also getting better at finding the open man when he is doubled inside.

Watching guys like Brown, Rozier, Smart, and Tatum, we can't lose sight that they are so young, and are not finished products, by any stretch. Brown and Tatum obviously have the most room to grow and develop. Watching the recent shift in Brown's development is a good reminder of our organic upside, that no other team, except Philly and Milwaukee, can claim.

Pretty awesome.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I'm with you, except the Milwaukee part.

[PhoSita]

Honestly I think the Celts' upside is higher than Philly given that Kyrie is currently better than either Simmons or Embiid and the Celts have Brown, Tatum, Hayward as well.

As for Milwaukee, Giannis is the only really superlative talent there, and for some reason his huge numbers and freakish size & athleticism haven't yet translated to his team being dominant at any point.

[green_bballers13]

Honestly I think the Celts' upside is higher than Philly given that Kyrie is currently better than either Simmons or Embiid and the Celts have Brown, Tatum, Hayward as well.

As for Milwaukee, Giannis is the only really superlative talent there, and for some reason his huge numbers and freakish size & athleticism haven't yet translated to his team being dominant at any point.

It's close. I think BOS, PHI, and MIL have the brightest futures in the East, in that order. BOS has the ability to trade Tatum/Brown/SAC pick for another superstar to couple with Kyrie, which I think would be more valuable than Embiid/Simmons. The Greek Freak is a top 5 player now, IMO, but I don't have confidence that MIL will put together a winner. It has to be frustrating for MIL and NO fans to watch top players lose so many games.

[droopdog7]

I think the Celtics upside is higher than Phil and Mil because we have Kyrie, Hayward, and Horford.  If we're just counting the young guys then we're definitely behind Phil and Giannis by himself is at least equal to Tatum and Brown.

[Valid]

We have been hearing about Milwaukee for several years now, and every year, they disappoint. At this point, it might be time to realize that they aren't an overly talented team outside of Giannis.

They have some nice pieces, but there has to be a reason why they keep disappointing every single season, especially in the lackluster Eastern Conference.

[Ed Hollison]

The thing he's really improved upon in recent weeks is his ballhandling and passing in the pick and roll. You can put the ball in his hands now and force the defense into a tough decision: defend Jaylen hard with two defenders and risk him making the right pass to the roll man, or leave a lane to the hoop to one of the most aggressive slashers in the league.

At age 21 this kid is arguably the most valuable defender on the team, its best at driving to the hoop outside of Kyrie, and shooting 37% from 3. He has his head on straight and works hard at his game. Seriously, the sky is the limit for this kid.

[chilidawg]

The thing he's really improved upon in recent weeks is his ballhandling and passing in the pick and roll. You can put the ball in his hands now and force the defense into a tough decision: defend Jaylen hard with two defenders and risk him making the right pass to the roll man, or leave a lane to the hoop to one of the most aggressive slashers in the league.

At age 21 this kid is arguably the most valuable defender on the team, its best at driving to the hoop outside of Kyrie, and shooting 37% from 3. He has his head on straight and works hard at his game. Seriously, the sky is the limit for this kid.

Exactly.

[SHAQATTACK]

Exactly how tall is he ?

[nickagneta]

Last year at this time Brown showed some defensive potential, an average 3 point shot, a loose handle, poor court awareness and nothing but a straight line drive to the basket.

This year he has become an excellent defender, he is shooting 3s at an above average pace, he has tightened up his handle immensely, he has shown twisting moves, eurosteps, better court awareness. He is finishing better at the rim. He is making the right pass for open shots if his drive is stopped or he is double teamed. He has added a catch and shoot shot, a fall back mid range shot, and good work in the pick and roll.

And he's been shooting his free throws at 71.2% over the last two months after a horrible start. Sky is the limit to how much he can grow next year

[mctyson]

He had a fadeaway 15 footer last night after a rebound that literally made me say "Kobe."

[kozlodoev]

Exactly how tall is he ?

Six feet and some inches

[footey]

Exactly how tall is he ?

Listed at 6'7" in his shoes. 

[footey]

He had a fadeaway 15 footer last night after a rebound that literally made me say "Kobe."

Man, could you imagine?

Earlier this season, it was obvious to me that Jason Tatum was going to be a greater offensive force than Jaylen. Lately, I'm not so sure, although that's putting aside the 1.5 year age difference, which is significant.

[ChillyWilly]

Jaylen and Tatum have totally different games. When they both figure out how to finish at the rim consistently they going to be double trouble.

I'm actually surprised how smooth Jaylen's jumper is. He has a very nice release considering that was suppose to be his weakness.