NBA: Jaylen Brown: Spotlight on driving test

Jaylen Brown was only 21 years old a few weeks ago and was supposed to become the star of the Boston Celtics, but after the injury of Gordon Hayward the Sophomore is already in the limelight. He will also be challenged against the Golden State Warriors (Fr., 2am on DAZN).

Jaylen Brown grabs her head in shock. His facial expression suggests that he’s about to throw up. He shares this with the majority of those present in the hall in Cleveland, which freezes for a moment after Gordon Hayward’s horror injury – after only five minutes of the new NBA season, there is stillness for the time being.

A short time later, Hayward is carried out of the hall with a broken leg and with him, it is believed, that the Contender status of the ambitious Celtics is also due to be carried out. The year in which LeBron and the Cavs were to be finally attacked suddenly seems to become a year of further development.

A few weeks later, the world looks completely different again. Although the Hayward diagnosis has been confirmed, the Swingman will (probably) miss the entire season – and yet Celtics are currently the hottest team in the league. In the duel against the Warriors in the night on Friday they go down with the recommendation of 13 consecutive victories.

Celtics shoulder the responsibility in the collective, but of course the Hayward failure has, above all, brought two wings to the fore. And while Rookie Jayson Tatum has surpassed all expectations and in a normal year (= without Ben Simmons in the league) would already look like the safe Rookie of the Year, Brown has also taken a step which he would not have been expected to take a long time ago.

“The expectations of the two of them are now much higher. Gordon’s injury is a possibility for Brown and Tatum to push themselves even more”, Kyrie Irving had already announced after the Cavs game. No sooner said than done. Brown delivered 25 points and 6 rebounds at the start of the season, combined with an impressive defence on the wing.

And even though scoring doesn’t work so well every day, Brown is already a supporting pillar of Celtics as a starting shooting guard. The No. 3 pick of 2016 is currently in 31.9 minutes per game with 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds. These figures are strong on their own, but even more interesting when you see how many obvious weaknesses Brown still has in play.

It is noticeable how much Brown is working on those. Still in college, Brown was a miserable shooter and only 29 percent of the triad, which was also the primary reason why Celtics came in 3rd with the decision for him. Place many experts surprised. In the meantime, it has increased its output to 37.3 percent, which should make Celtics very happy.

In the Brad Stevens system, virtually every player has permission to throw from the outside, even the Big Men such as Al Horford and Daniel Theis are allowed to do so. Brown is even more demanding and with 4.5 attempts per game he meets this requirement. The better the throw gets, the more free space he (and others) of course also gets when he moves to the basket.

Here too, however, it still needs to improve in some areas. On the one hand, his alarming free-throw rate (61.7 percent) shows that his litter is anything but “automatic”, and on the other hand he has problems with finishing. Only 54 percent of his experiments in the Restricted Area have been successful.

Brown is not yet able to create his own throws, as his ball handling is not yet at the highest level. He scores a large part of his points in fastbreak, after cuts or as a spot-up shooter, with the ball in his hand he is rarely able to use his massive athletics profitably.

As a ball handler in pick’ n’ roll, Brown has a hard time of it and loses the ball too often. This is one of the main reasons why Tatum regularly, and not he, is the first option of the “second five”. Although the rookie is only 19 years old, he’s already more mature in his game than Brown,”You can’t tell he’s just getting out of college,”Daniel Theis recently told the SPOX interview about Tatum.

At Brown, on the other hand, many things are still raw and need improvement. Defensively, however, he is already operating at a level that many NBA players can’t reach throughout their career. In Celtics, he takes over the best perimeter player of the opponent, unless Marcus Smart is standing on the court.

Stevens had already said before the season that he would play a bigger role here, as he had already announced in the summer that “it is particularly important for Brown to take the next step defensively because of Avery Bradley’s departure”. Remember: Bradley was the best defender in Boston for years, but had to be “sacrificed” by trade in the summer, because Boston needed money to sign Hayward.

Brown is not as complete as his predecessor, but his versatility is already impressive. Between Point Guard and Power Forward, he defends everything that is demanded of him and, due to his athleticism and mega-span range, he cuts a good figure in most cases. The only problem here is that he often fouls too much against superstars and sometimes falls for pump fakes too easily. In addition, he sometimes neglects the help defense.

However, these are weaknesses that can be overcome with the right attitude and a little experience. Especially as it already works impressively well. Boston is currently the NBA’s best defensive team – thanks in part to Brown, who gets better and more confident from week to week.

“He does a lot of hard work every day during the training sessions, as he shows in the games. It’s still early in the season, but the boy’s asking a lot of himself. I appreciate that,”Irving praised the 21-year-old recently. Stevens also raves about the professionalism of the youngster.

In this respect, Brown has certainly benefited from playing for an ambitious team from the very beginning. Where lots of lottery picks end up in lousy teams and are guaranteed minutes and throws from the start, Brown had to earn his place as a rookie in rotation. Without a solid defence he would hardly play until today.

Players such as Smart, Bradley, Jae Crowder and Gerald Green gave him the opportunity to experience what it means to be an NBA professional. As long as he keeps that up, Brown seems to have all the doors open. Green also attested to him:”If he remains modest and maintains his mentality, he can become a great player. He has the talent.”